Hydromethanation of a carbonaceous feedstock

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to processes for hydromethanating a carbonaceous feedstock to a fines-depleted methane-enriched synthesis gas, with recycle of recovered particulate fines back into a specified portion of a hydromethanation reactor.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/381,525 (filed 10 Sep. 2010), thedisclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein for all purposesas if fully set forth.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to processes for hydromethanating acarbonaceous feedstock to a fines-depleted methane-enriched synthesisgas, with recycle of recovered particulate fines back into a specifiedportion of a hydromethanation reactor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In view of numerous factors such as higher energy prices andenvironmental concerns, the production of value-added products (such aspipeline-quality substitute natural gas, hydrogen, methanol, higherhydrocarbons, ammonia and electrical power) from lower-fuel-valuecarbonaceous feedstocks (such as petroleum coke, resids, asphaltenes,coal and biomass) is receiving renewed attention.

Such lower-fuel-value carbonaceous feedstocks can be gasified atelevated temperatures and pressures to produce a synthesis gas streamthat can subsequently be converted to such value-added products.

One advantageous gasification process is hydromethanation, in which thecarbonaceous feedstock is converted in a fluidized-bed hydromethanationreactor in the presence of a catalyst source and steam atmoderately-elevated temperatures and pressures to directly produce amethane-rich synthesis gas stream (medium BTU synthesis gas stream) rawproduct. This is distinct from conventional gasification processes, suchas those based on partial combustion/oxidation of a carbon source athighly-elevated temperatures and pressures (thermal gasification,typically non-catalytic), where a syngas (carbon monoxide+hydrogen) isthe primary product (little or no methane is directly produced), whichcan then be further processed to produce methane (via catalyticmethanation, see reaction (III) below) or any number of other higherhydrocarbon products.

Hydromethanation processes and the conversion/utilization of theresulting methane-rich synthesis gas stream to produce value-addedproducts are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,474, U.S.Pat. No. 3,958,957, U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,607, U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,512,U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,125, U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,650, U.S. Pat. No.4,204,843, U.S. Pat. No. 4,243,639, U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,231, U.S. Pat.No. 4,500,323, U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,841, U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,155, U.S.Pat. No. 4,558,027, U.S. Pat. No. 4,606,105, U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,027,U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,456, U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,282, U.S. Pat. No.5,055,181, U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,465, U.S. Pat. No. 6,790,430, U.S. Pat.No. 6,894,183, U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,695, US2003/0167961A1,US2006/0265953A1, US2007/000177A1, US2007/083072A1, US2007/0277437A1,US2009/0048476A1, US2009/0090056A1, US2009/0090055A1, US2009/0165383A1,US2009/0166588A1, US2009/0165379A1, US2009/0170968A1, US2009/0165380A1,US2009/0165381A1, US2009/0165361A1, US2009/0165382A1, US2009/0169449A1,US2009/0169448A1, US2009/0165376A1, US2009/0165384A1, US2009/0217582A1,US2009/0220406A1, US2009/0217590A1, US2009/0217586A1, US2009/0217588A1,US2009/0218424A1, US2009/0217589A1, US2009/0217575A1, US2009/0229182A1,US2009/0217587A1, US2009/0246120A1, US2009/0259080A1, US2009/0260287A1,US2009/0324458A1, US2009/0324459A1, US2009/0324460A1, US2009/0324461A1,US2009/0324462A1, US2010/0071235A1, US2010/0071262A1, US2010/0120926A1,US2010/0121125A1, US2010/0168494A1, US2010/0168495A1, US2010/0179232A1,US2010/0287835A1 and GB1599932. See also Chiaramonte et al, “UpgradeCoke by Gasification”, Hydrocarbon Processing, September 1982, pp.255-257; and Kalina et al, “Exxon Catalytic Coal Gasification ProcessPredevelopment Program, Final Report”, Exxon Research and EngineeringCo., Baytown, Tex., FE236924, December 1978.

The hydromethanation of a carbon source typically involves fourtheoretically separate reactions:

Steam carbon: C+H₂O→CO+H₂  (I)

Water-gas shift: CO+H₂O→H₂+CO₂  (II)

CO Methanation: CO+3H₂→CH₄+H₂O  (III)

Hydro-gasification: 2H₂+C→CH₄  (IV)

In the hydromethanation reaction, the first three reactions (I-III)predominate to result in the following overall reaction:

2C−2H₂O→CH₄+CO₂  (V).

The overall hydromethanation reaction is essentially thermally balanced;however, due to process heat losses and other energy requirements (suchas required for evaporation of moisture entering the reactor with thefeedstock), some heat must be added to maintain the thermal balance.

The reactions are also essentially syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide)balanced (syngas is produced and consumed); therefore, as carbonmonoxide and hydrogen are withdrawn with the product gases, carbonmonoxide and hydrogen need to be added to the reaction as required toavoid a deficiency.

In order to maintain the net heat of reaction as close to neutral aspossible (only slightly exothermic or endothermic), and maintain thesyngas balance, a superheated gas stream of steam, carbon monoxide andhydrogen is often fed to the hydromethanation reactor. Frequently, thecarbon monoxide and hydrogen streams are recycle streams separated fromthe product gas, and/or are provided by reforming/partially oxidating aportion of the product methane. See, for example, previouslyincorporated U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,650, U.S. Pat. No. 6,955,595,US2007/083072A1 and US2010/0120926A1.

In one variation of the hydromethanation process, required carbonmonoxide, hydrogen and heat energy can also at least in part begenerated in situ by feeding oxygen into the hydromethanation reactor.See, for example, previously incorporated US2010/0076235A1 andUS2010/0287835A1.

The result is a “direct” methane-enriched raw product gas stream alsocontaining substantial amounts of hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbondioxide which can, for example, be directly utilized as a medium BTUenergy source, or can be processed to result in a variety ofhigher-value product streams such as pipeline-quality substitute naturalgas, high-purity hydrogen, methanol, ammonia, higher hydrocarbons,carbon dioxide (for enhanced oil recovery and industrial uses) andelectrical energy.

One of the initial steps in processing the methane-enriched raw productstream is to remove residual solids fines that are entrained in thegaseous stream, generally via internal and/or external cyclones,optionally followed by other well-known means such as Venturi scrubbers.These fines contain carbon from the feedstock as well as catalyst, andare typically returned to the fluidized bed of the hydromethanationreactor, as disclosed in many of the previously incorporated references.They may also be directly processed for catalyst recovery, or recycledback to the feedstock preparation (such as disclosed in previouslyincorporated US2009/0217589A1).

Depending on operating conditions, return of certain fines materialdirectly to the fluidized bed in the hydromethanation reactor may,however, have an adverse effect on the particle size distribution withinthe bed, and thus the optimal fluidization of the bed and operation ofthe reactor. Because the fines particles contain catalyst and are hot,they are highly “active” making recycle back into the feedstock or forcatalyst recovery potentially complicated.

It would, therefore, be highly desirable to find a more advantageous usefor such catalyzed fines as they are removed from the raw product gasstream.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the invention provides a process for generating afines-depleted methane-enriched raw product gas stream from anon-gaseous carbonaceous material, the process comprising the steps of:

(a) supplying to a hydromethanation reactor

-   -   (1) a carbonaceous feedstock derived from the non-gaseous        carbonaceous material,    -   (2) a hydromethanation catalyst,    -   (3) a superheated steam stream and    -   (4) an oxygen-rich gas stream,

wherein the hydromethanation reactor comprises a fluidized bed having aupper portion above a lower portion, and wherein the superheated steamstream and the oxygen-rich gas stream are introduced into the lowerportion of the fluidized bed;

(b) reacting a portion of the carbonaceous feedstock in thehydromethanation reactor in the presence of hydromethanation catalyst,carbon monoxide, hydrogen and steam at a target operating temperature toproduce a methane-enriched raw gas and a solid by-product char, whereinthe methane-enriched raw gas comprises methane, carbon monoxide,hydrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, steam, heat energy andentrained fines;

(c) treating the methane-enriched raw gas to remove a substantialportion of the entrained fines to generated a fines-depletedmethane-enriched raw product gas stream and a recovered fines stream;and

(d) reacting a portion of the carbonaceous feedstock with oxygen toproduce carbon monoxide, hydrogen and heat energy;

wherein:

-   -   (i) the reaction of step (b) predominates in the upper portion        of the fluidized bed;    -   (ii) the reaction of step (d) predominates in the lower portion        of the fluidized bed; and    -   (iii) at least a portion of the fines stream is fed into the        lower portion of the fluidized bed.

The process in accordance with the present invention is useful, forexample, for producing higher-value products and by-products fromvarious carbonaceous materials.

These and other embodiments, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more readily understood by those of ordinary skill inthe art from a reading of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an embodiment of the process for generating amethane-enriched raw product gas stream in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of an embodiment for the further processing of amethane-enriched raw product stream to generate one or more value-addedproducts such as hydrogen, substitute natural gas and/or electricalpower.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to processes for converting a non-gaseouscarbonaceous material ultimately into one or more value-added gaseousproducts. Further details are provided below.

In the context of the present description, all publications, patentapplications, patents and other references mentioned herein, if nototherwise indicated, are explicitly incorporated by reference herein intheir entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this disclosure belongs. In case of conflict, thepresent specification, including definitions, will control.

Except where expressly noted, trademarks are shown in upper case.

Unless stated otherwise, all percentages, parts, ratios, etc., are byweight.

Unless stated otherwise, pressures expressed in psi units are gauge, andpressures expressed in kPa units are absolute.

When an amount, concentration, or other value or parameter is given as arange, or a list of upper and lower values, this is to be understood asspecifically disclosing all ranges formed from any pair of any upper andlower range limits, regardless of whether ranges are separatelydisclosed. Where a range of numerical values is recited herein, unlessotherwise stated, the range is intended to include the endpointsthereof, and all integers and fractions within the range. It is notintended that the scope of the present disclosure be limited to thespecific values recited when defining a range.

When the term “about” is used in describing a value or an end-point of arange, the disclosure should be understood to include the specific valueor end-point referred to.

As used herein, the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,”“including,” “has,” “having” or any other variation thereof, areintended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is notnecessarily limited to only those elements but can include otherelements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method,article, or apparatus.

Further, unless expressly stated to the contrary, “or” and “and/or”refers to an inclusive and not to an exclusive. For example, a conditionA or B, or A and/or B, is satisfied by any one of the following: A istrue (or present) and B is false (or not present), A is false (or notpresent) and B is true (or present), and both A and B are true (orpresent).

The use of “a” or “an” to describe the various elements and componentsherein is merely for convenience and to give a general sense of thedisclosure. This description should be read to include one or at leastone and the singular also includes the plural unless it is obvious thatit is meant otherwise.

The term “substantial”, as used herein, unless otherwise defined herein,means that greater than about 90% of the referenced material, preferablygreater than about 95% of the referenced material, and more preferablygreater than about 97% of the referenced material. If not specified, thepercent is on a molar basis when reference is made to a molecule (suchas methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide), andotherwise is on a weight basis (such as for entrained fines).

The term “predominant portion”, as used herein, unless otherwise definedherein, means that greater than 50% of the referenced material. If notspecified, the percent is on a molar basis when reference is made to amolecule (such as hydrogen, methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide andhydrogen sulfide), and otherwise is on a weight basis (such as forentrained fines).

The term “depleted” is synonymous with reduced from originally present.For example, removing a substantial portion of a material from a streamwould produce a material-depleted stream that is substantially depletedof that material. Conversely, the term “enriched” is synonymous withgreater than originally present.

The term “carbonaceous” as used herein is synonymous with hydrocarbon.

The term “carbonaceous material” as used herein is a material containingorganic hydrocarbon content. Carbonaceous materials can be classified asbiomass or non-biomass materials as defined herein.

The term “biomass” as used herein refers to carbonaceous materialsderived from recently (for example, within the past 100 years) livingorganisms, including plant-based biomass and animal-based biomass. Forclarification, biomass does not include fossil-based carbonaceousmaterials, such as coal. For example, see previously incorporatedUS2009/0217575A1, US2009/0229182A1 and US2009/0217587A1.

The term “plant-based biomass” as used herein means materials derivedfrom green plants, crops, algae, and trees, such as, but not limited to,sweet sorghum, bagasse, sugarcane, bamboo, hybrid poplar, hybrid willow,albizia trees, eucalyptus, alfalfa, clover, oil palm, switchgrass,sudangrass, millet, jatropha, and miscanthus (e.g.,Miscanthus×giganteus). Biomass further include wastes from agriculturalcultivation, processing, and/or degradation such as corn cobs and husks,corn stover, straw, nut shells, vegetable oils, canola oil, rapeseedoil, biodiesels, tree bark, wood chips, sawdust, and yard wastes.

The term “animal-based biomass” as used herein means wastes generatedfrom animal cultivation and/or utilization. For example, biomassincludes, but is not limited to, wastes from livestock cultivation andprocessing such as animal manure, guano, poultry litter, animal fats,and municipal solid wastes (e.g., sewage).

The term “non-biomass”, as used herein, means those carbonaceousmaterials which are not encompassed by the term “biomass” as definedherein. For example, non-biomass include, but is not limited to,anthracite, bituminous coal, sub-bituminous coal, lignite, petroleumcoke, asphaltenes, liquid petroleum residues or mixtures thereof. Forexample, see US2009/0166588A1, US2009/0165379A1, US2009/0165380A1,US2009/0165361A1, US2009/0217590A1 and US2009/0217586A1.

“Liquid heavy hydrocarbon materials” are viscous liquid or semi-solidmaterials that are flowable at ambient conditions or can be madeflowable at elevated temperature conditions. These materials aretypically the residue from the processing of hydrocarbon materials suchas crude oil. For example, the first step in the refining of crude oilis normally a distillation to separate the complex mixture ofhydrocarbons into fractions of differing volatility. A typicalfirst-step distillation requires heating at atmospheric pressure tovaporize as much of the hydrocarbon content as possible withoutexceeding an actual temperature of about 650° F., since highertemperatures may lead to thermal decomposition. The fraction which isnot distilled at atmospheric pressure is commonly referred to as“atmospheric petroleum residue”. The fraction may be further distilledunder vacuum, such that an actual temperature of up to about 650° F. canvaporize even more material. The remaining undistillable liquid isreferred to as “vacuum petroleum residue”. Both atmospheric petroleumresidue and vacuum petroleum residue are considered liquid heavyhydrocarbon materials for the purposes of the present invention.

Non-limiting examples of liquid heavy hydrocarbon materials includevacuum resids; atmospheric resids; heavy and reduced petroleum crudeoils; pitch, asphalt and bitumen (naturally occurring as well asresulting from petroleum refining processes); tar sand oil; shale oil;bottoms from catalytic cracking processes; coal liquefaction bottoms;and other hydrocarbon feedstreams containing significant amounts ofheavy or viscous materials such as petroleum wax fractions.

The term “asphaltene” as used herein is an aromatic carbonaceous solidat room temperature, and can be derived, for example, from theprocessing of crude oil and crude oil tar sands. Asphaltenes may also beconsidered liquid heavy hydrocarbon feedstocks.

The liquid heavy hydrocarbon materials may inherently contain minoramounts of solid carbonaceous materials, such as petroleum coke and/orsolid asphaltenes, that are generally dispersed within the liquid heavyhydrocarbon matrix, and that remain solid at the elevated temperatureconditions utilized as the feed conditions for the present process.

The terms “petroleum coke” and “petcoke” as used herein include both (i)the solid thermal decomposition product of high-boiling hydrocarbonfractions obtained in petroleum processing (heavy residues—“residpetcoke”); and (ii) the solid thermal decomposition product ofprocessing tar sands (bituminous sands or oil sands—“tar sandspetcoke”). Such carbonization products include, for example, green,calcined, needle and fluidized bed petcoke.

Resid petcoke can also be derived from a crude oil, for example, bycoking processes used for upgrading heavy-gravity residual crude oil(such as a liquid petroleum residue), which petcoke contains ash as aminor component, typically about 1.0 wt % or less, and more typicallyabout 0.5 wt % of less, based on the weight of the coke. Typically, theash in such lower-ash cokes predominantly comprises metals such asnickel and vanadium.

Tar sands petcoke can be derived from an oil sand, for example, bycoking processes used for upgrading oil sand. Tar sands petcoke containsash as a minor component, typically in the range of about 2 wt % toabout 12 wt %, and more typically in the range of about 4 wt % to about12 wt %, based on the overall weight of the tar sands petcoke.Typically, the ash in such higher-ash cokes predominantly comprisesmaterials such as silica and/or alumina.

Petroleum coke can comprise at least about 70 wt % carbon, at leastabout 80 wt % carbon, or at least about 90 wt % carbon, based on thetotal weight of the petroleum coke. Typically, the petroleum cokecomprises less than about 20 wt % inorganic compounds, based on theweight of the petroleum coke.

The term “coal” as used herein means peat, lignite, sub-bituminous coal,bituminous coal, anthracite, or mixtures thereof. In certainembodiments, the coal has a carbon content of less than about 85%, orless than about 80%, or less than about 75%, or less than about 70%, orless than about 65%, or less than about 60%, or less than about 55%, orless than about 50% by weight, based on the total coal weight. In otherembodiments, the coal has a carbon content ranging up to about 85%, orup to about 80%, or up to about 75% by weight, based on the total coalweight. Examples of useful coal include, but are not limited to,Illinois #6, Pittsburgh #8, Beulah (ND), Utah Blind Canyon, and PowderRiver Basin (PRB) coals. Anthracite, bituminous coal, sub-bituminouscoal, and lignite coal may contain about 10 wt %, from about 5 to about7 wt %, from about 4 to about 8 wt %, and from about 9 to about 11 wt %,ash by total weight of the coal on a dry basis, respectively. However,the ash content of any particular coal source will depend on the rankand source of the coal, as is familiar to those skilled in the art. See,for example, “Coal Data: A Reference”, Energy InformationAdministration, Office of Coal, Nuclear, Electric and Alternate Fuels,U.S. Department of Energy, DOE/EIA-0064(93), February 1995.

The ash produced from combustion of a coal typically comprises both afly ash and a bottom ash, as is familiar to those skilled in the art.The fly ash from a bituminous coal can comprise from about 20 to about60 wt % silica and from about 5 to about 35 wt % alumina, based on thetotal weight of the fly ash. The fly ash from a sub-bituminous coal cancomprise from about 40 to about 60 wt % silica and from about 20 toabout 30 wt % alumina, based on the total weight of the fly ash. The flyash from a lignite coal can comprise from about 15 to about 45 wt %silica and from about 20 to about 25 wt % alumina, based on the totalweight of the fly ash. See, for example, Meyers, et al. “Fly Ash. AHighway Construction Material,” Federal Highway Administration, ReportNo. FHWA-IP-76-16, Washington, D.C., 1976.

The bottom ash from a bituminous coal can comprise from about 40 toabout 60 wt % silica and from about 20 to about 30 wt % alumina, basedon the total weight of the bottom ash. The bottom ash from asub-bituminous coal can comprise from about 40 to about 50 wt % silicaand from about 15 to about 25 wt % alumina, based on the total weight ofthe bottom ash. The bottom ash from a lignite coal can comprise fromabout 30 to about 80 wt % silica and from about 10 to about 20 wt %alumina, based on the total weight of the bottom ash. See, for example,Moulton, Lyle K. “Bottom Ash and Boiler Slag,” Proceedings of the ThirdInternational Ash Utilization Symposium, U.S. Bureau of Mines,Information Circular No. 8640, Washington, D.C., 1973.

A material such as methane can be biomass or non-biomass under the abovedefinitions depending on its source of origin.

A “non-gaseous” material is substantially a liquid, semi-solid, solid ormixture at ambient conditions. For example, coal, petcoke, asphalteneand liquid petroleum residue are non-gaseous materials, while methaneand natural gas are gaseous materials.

The term “unit” refers to a unit operation. When more than one “unit” isdescribed as being present, those units are operated in a parallelfashion unless otherwise stated. A single “unit”, however, may comprisemore than one of the units in series, or in parallel, depending on thecontext. For example, an acid gas removal unit may comprise a hydrogensulfide removal unit followed in series by a carbon dioxide removalunit. As another example, a contaminant removal unit may comprise afirst removal unit for a first contaminant followed in series by asecond removal unit for a second contaminant. As yet another example, acompressor may comprise a first compressor to compress a stream to afirst pressure, followed in series by a second compressor to furthercompress the stream to a second (higher) pressure.

The term “a portion of the carbonaceous feedstock” refers to carboncontent of unreacted feedstock as well as partially reacted feedstock,as well as other components that may be derived in whole or part fromthe carbonaceous feedstock (such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen andmethane). For example, “a portion of the carbonaceous feedstock”includes carbon content that may be present in by-product char andrecycled fines, which char is ultimately derived from the originalcarbonaceous feedstock.

The term “superheated steam” in the context of the present inventionrefers to a steam stream that is non-condensing under the conditionsutilized.

The term “syngas demand” refers to the maintenance of syngas balance inthe hydromethanation reactor for the reaction of step (b). As indicatedabove, in the overall desirable steady-state hydromethanation reaction(see equations (I), (II) and (III) above), hydrogen and carbon monoxideare generated and consumed in relative balance. Because both hydrogenand carbon monoxide are withdrawn as part of the gaseous products,hydrogen and carbon monoxide must be added to and/or generated in situin (via a combustion/oxidation reaction with supplied oxygen asdiscussed below) the hydromethanation reactor in an amount at leastrequired to substantially maintain this reaction balance. For thepurposes of the present invention, the amount of hydrogen and carbonmonoxide that must be added to and/or generated in situ for thehydromethanation reaction (step (b)) is the “syngas demand”.

The term “steam demand” refers to the amount of steam that must be addedto the hydromethanation reactor. Steam is consumed in thehydromethanation reaction and some steam must be added to thehydromethanation reactor. The theoretical consumption of steam is twomoles for every two moles of carbon in the feed to produce one mole ofmethane and one mole of carbon dioxide (see equation (V)). In actualpractice, the steam consumption is not perfectly efficient and steam iswithdrawn with the product gases; therefore, a greater than theoreticalamount of steam needs to be added to the hydromethanation reactor, whichadded amount is the “steam demand”. Steam can be added, for example, viathe superheated steam stream and the oxygen-rich gas stream. The amountof steam to be added (and the source) is discussed in further detailbelow. Steam generated in situ from the carbonaceous feedstock (e.g.,from vaporization of any moisture content of the carbonaceous feedstock,or from an oxidation reaction with hydrogen, methane and/or otherhydrocarbons present in or generated from the carbonaceous feedstock)can assist in satisfying the steam demand; however, it should be notedthat any steam generated in situ or fed into the hydromethanationreactor at a temperature lower than the hydromethanation reactiontemperature will have an impact on the “heat demand” for thehydromethanation reaction.

The term “heat demand” refers to the amount of heat energy that must beadded to the hydromethanation reactor and generated in situ (forexample, via the reaction of step (d)) to keep the reaction of step (b)in substantial thermal balance, as discussed above and as furtherdetailed below.

Although methods and materials similar or equivalent to those describedherein can be used in the practice or testing of the present disclosure,suitable methods and materials are described herein. The materials,methods, and examples herein are thus illustrative only and, except asspecifically stated, are not intended to be limiting.

General Process Information

In one embodiment of the invention, a fines-depleted methane-enrichedraw product gas stream (52) is ultimately generated from a non-gaseouscarbonaceous material (10) as illustrated in FIG. 1.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the non-gaseouscarbonaceous material (10) is processed in a feedstock preparation unit(100) to generate a carbonaceous feedstock (32) which is fed to acatalyst application unit (350) where hydromethanation catalyst isapplied to generate a catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32). Thehydromethanation catalyst will typically comprise a recycle catalystfrom recycle catalyst stream (57) and a makeup catalyst from make-upcatalyst stream (56). Further details are provided below.

The catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32) is fed into ahydromethanation reactor (200) along with a superheated steam stream(12), an oxygen-rich gas stream (14) and, optionally, a superheatedsyngas feed stream (16). The superheated steam stream (12) and optionalsuperheated syngas feed stream (16) may be a single feed stream whichcomprises, or multiple feed streams which, in combination with theoxygen-rich gas stream (14) and in situ generation of heat energy,syngas and steam comprise, steam and heat energy, and optionallyhydrogen and carbon monoxide, as required to at least substantiallysatisfy, or at least satisfy, the syngas, steam and heat demands of thehydromethanation reaction that takes place in hydromethanation reactor(200).

In one embodiment, as disclosed in commonly owned U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/244,476 (attorney docket no. FN-0063 US NP1,entitled HYDROMETHANATION OF A CARBONACEOUS FEEDSTOCK, filed 17 Aug.2011), optional superheated syngas feed stream (16) is not present, andthe catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32), superheated steam stream(12) and oxygen-rich gas stream (14) are all fed to hydromethanationreactor (200) at a temperature below the target operating temperature ofthe hydromethanation reaction.

The hydromethanation reactor (200) comprises a fluidized bed (202) withan upper portion (202 b), and a lower portion (202 c), in which thereactions of step (b) and step (d) take place. Without being bound byany particular theory, the reaction of step (b) predominates in upperportion (202 b), and the reaction of step (d) predominates in lowerportion (202 c). It is believed that there is no specific definedboundary between the two portions, but rather there is a transition asoxygen is consumed (and heat energy and syngas are generated) in lowerportion (202 c). It is also believed that oxygen consumption is rapidunder the conditions present in hydromethanation reactor (200);therefore, the predominant portion of fluidized bed (202) will be upperportion (202 b).

The superheated steam stream (12) and oxygen-rich gas stream (14) may befed separately into the hydromethanation reactor (200), but aretypically combined prior to feeding into lower portion (202 c) offluidized bed (202). In one embodiment, the temperature of both streams(individually and combined) upon introduction to lower section (202 c)of fluidized bed (202) will be lower than the target operatingtemperature of the reaction of step (b).

Hydromethanation reactor (200) also typically comprises a zone (206)below fluidized-bed (202), with the two sections typically beingseparated by a grid plate (208) or similar divider. Particles too largeto be fluidized in fluidized-bed section (202) are generally collectedin lower portion (202 c) of fluidized bed (202), as well as zone (206).Such particles will typically comprise a carbon content (as well as anash and catalyst content), and may be removed periodically fromhydromethanation reactor (200) via char withdrawal lines (58) and (58 a)for catalyst recovery as discussed below.

At least a portion of the carbonaceous feedstock in lower portion (202c) of fluidized bed (202) will react with oxygen from oxygen-rich gasstream (14) to generate heat energy, and also hydrogen and carbonmonoxide (syngas), desirably in sufficient amounts to satisfy the heatand syngas demands of the hydromethanation reaction of step (b)(desirably no separate superheated syngas feed stream (16) is utilizedin steady-state operation of the process). This includes the reaction ofsolid carbon from partially reacted feedstock (such as char and recycledfines), as well gases (carbon monoxide, hydrogen, methane and higherhydrocarbons) that may be generated from or carried with the feedstockand recycle fines in lower portion (202 c). Generally some water (steam)may be produced, as well as other by-products such as carbon dioxidedepending on the extent of combustion/oxidation.

In hydromethanation reactor (200) (predominantly in upper portion (202b) of fluidized bed (202)), the carbonaceous feedstock, steam, hydrogenand carbon monoxide react in the presence of the hydromethanationcatalyst to generate a methane-enriched raw product, which is ultimatelywithdrawn as a methane-enriched raw product stream (50) from thehydromethanation reactor (200).

Typically, the methane-enriched raw product passes through an initialdisengagement zone (204) above the fluidized-bed section (202) prior towithdrawal from hydromethanation reactor (200). The disengagement zone(204) may optionally contain, for example, one or more internal cyclonesand/or other entrained particle disengagement mechanisms. The“withdrawn” (see discussion below) methane-enriched raw product gasstream (50) typically comprises at least methane, carbon monoxide,carbon dioxide, hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, steam, heat energy andentrained fines.

The methane-enriched raw product gas stream (50) is initially treated toremove a substantial portion of the entrained fines, typically via acyclone assembly (360) (for example, one or more internal and/orexternal cyclones), which may be followed if necessary by optionaladditional treatments such as Venturi scrubbers, as discussed in moredetail below. The “withdrawn” methane-enriched raw product gas stream(50), therefore, is to be considered the raw product prior to finesseparation, regardless of whether the fines separation takes placeinternal to and/or external of hydromethanation reactor (200).

As depicted in FIG. 1, the methane-enriched raw product stream (50) ispassed from hydromethanation reactor (200) to a cyclone assembly (360)for entrained particle separation. While cyclone assembly (360) is shownin FIG. 1 as a single external cyclone for simplicity, as indicatedabove cyclone assembly (360) may be an internal and/or external cyclone,and may also be a series of multiple internal and/or external cyclones.

The methane-enriched raw product gas stream (50) is treated in cycloneassembly (360) to generate the fines-depleted methane-enriched rawproduct gas stream (52) and a recovered fines stream (362).

Typically, recovered fines stream (362), if fed back intohydromethanation reactor (202), would be fed back into upper portion(202 c) of fluidized bed (202) via fines recycle line (364). If not fedback into upper portion (202 c) of fluidized bed (202), then recoveredfines stream would typically be recycled back to feedstock preparationunit (100) and/or catalyst recovery unit (300). In accordance with thepresent invention, however, at least a portion (or a predominantportion, or substantially all) of recovered fines stream (362) is fedvia recycle line (366) into lower portion (202 c) of hydromethanationreactor (200) where, in common with char particles in lower portion (202c), at least a portion of the carbon content of the fines reacts withoxygen from oxygen-rich gas stream (14) to generate heat energy and,optionally, also hydrogen and carbon monoxide (syngas) to satisfy (orassist in satisfying) the heat and syngas demands of thehydromethanation reaction.

The fines-depleted methane-enriched raw product gas stream (52)typically comprises at least methane, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide,hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, steam, ammonia and heat energy, as well assmall amounts of contaminants such as remaining residual entrainedfines, and other volatilized and/or carried material (for example,mercury) that may be present in the carbonaceous feedstock. There aretypically virtually no (total typically less than about 50 ppm)condensable (at ambient conditions) hydrocarbons present infines-depleted methane-enriched raw product gas stream (52).

The fines-depleted methane-enriched raw product gas stream (52) may betreated in one or more downstream processing steps to recover heatenergy, decontaminate and convert, to produce one or more value-addedproducts such as, for example, substitute natural gas (pipelinequality), hydrogen, carbon monoxide, syngas, ammonia, methanol, othersyngas-derived products and electrical power, as disclosed in many ofthe documents referenced in the “Hydromethanation” section below, and asdiscussed in further detail below.

Additional details and embodiments are provided below.

Hydromethanation

Catalytic gasification/hydromethanation and/or raw product conversionprocesses and conditions are generally disclosed, for example, in U.S.Pat. No. 3,828,474, U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,607, U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,512,U.S. Pat. No. 4,092,125, U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,650, U.S. Pat. No.4,204,843, U.S. Pat. No. 4,468,231, U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,323, U.S. Pat.No. 4,541,841, U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,155, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,027, U.S.Pat. No. 4,606,105, U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,027, U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,456,U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,282, U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,181, U.S. Pat. No.6,187,465, U.S. Pat. No. 6,790,430, U.S. Pat. No. 6,894,183, U.S. Pat.No. 6,955,695, US2003/0167961A1 and US2006/0265953A1, as well as incommonly owned US2007/0000177A1, US2007/0083072A1, US2007/0277437A1,US2009/0048476A1, US2009/0090056A1, US2009/0090055A1, US2009/0165383A1,US2009/0166588A1, US2009/0165379A1, US2009/0170968A1, US2009/0165380A1,US2009/0165381A1, US2009/0165361A1, US2009/0165382A1, US2009/0169449A1,US2009/0169448A1, US2009/0165376A1, US2009/0165384A1, US2009/0217582A1,US2009/0220406A1, US2009/0217590A1, US2009/0217586A1, US2009/0217588A1,US2009/0218424A1, US2009/0217589A1, US2009/0217575A1, US2009/0229182A1,US2009/0217587A1, US2009/0246120A1, US2009/0259080A1, US2009/0260287A1,US2009/0324458A1, US2009/0324459A1, US2009/0324460A1, US2009/0324461A1,US2009/0324462A1, US2010/0071262A1, US2010/0076235A1, US2010/0121125A1,US2010/0120926A1, US2010/0179232A1, US2010/0168494A1, US2010/0168495A1,US2010/0292350A1, US2010/0287836A1, US2010/0287835A1, US2011/0062012A1,US2011/0062722A1, US2011/0062721A1, US2011/0064648A1; US2011/0088896A1,US2011/0088897A1, US20110146978A1 and US20110146979A1; U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/031,486 (attorney docket no. FN-0059 US NP1,entitled INTEGRATED HYDROMETHANATION FUEL CELL POWER GENERATION), whichwas filed 21 Feb. 2011; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/039,995(attorney docket no. FN-0060 US NP1, entitled INTEGRATEDHYDROMETHANATION FUEL CELL POWER GENERATION), which was filed 3 Mar.2010; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/094,438 (attorney docketno. FN-0061 US NP1, entitled HYDROMETHANATION OF A CARBONACEOUSFEEDSTOCK WITH VANADIUM RECOVERY), which was filed 26 Apr. 2011; andU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/211,476 (attorney docket no. FN-0063US NP1, entitled HYDROMETHANATION OF A CARBONACEOUS FEEDSTOCK, filed 17Aug. 2011).

In an embodiment in accordance with the present invention as illustratedin FIG. 1, catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32), superheated steamstream (12) and, optionally, superheated syngas feed stream (16) areintroduced into hydromethanation reactor (200). In addition, an amountof an oxygen-rich gas stream (14) is also be introduced intohydromethanation reactor for in situ generation of heat energy andsyngas, as generally discussed above and disclosed in many of thepreviously incorporated references (see, for example, previouslyincorporated US2010/0076235A1, US2010/0287835A1 and US2011/0062721A1).

Superheated steam stream (12), oxygen-rich gas stream (14) andsuperheated syngas feed stream (16) (if present) are desirablyintroduced into hydromethanation reactor at a temperature below thetarget operating temperature of the hydromethanation reaction. Althoughunder those conditions this would have a negative impact on the heatdemand of the hydromethanation reaction (prior to the reaction of step(d)), this actually allows full steam/heat integration of the process,without the use of fuel fired superheaters (in steady-state operation ofthe process) that are typically fueled with a portion of the productfrom the process. Typically, superheated syngas feed stream (16) willnot be present.

Steps (b) and (d) occur within hydromethanation reactor (200).

Hydromethanation reactor (200) is a fluidized-bed reactor.Hydromethanation reactor (200) can, for example, be a “flow down”countercurrent configuration, where the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock(31+32) is introduced at a higher point so that the particles flow downthe fluidized bed (202) toward lower portion (202 c) of fluidized bed(202), and the gases flow in an upward direction and are removed at apoint above the fluidized bed (202). Alternatively, hydromethanationreactor (200) can be a “flow up” co-current configuration, where thecatalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32) is fed at a lower point so thatthe particles flow up the fluidized bed (202), along with the gases, toa char by-product removal zone (not depicted) near the top of or abovefluidized bed (202). In a “flow up” configuration, there still is alower portion (202 c) at the bottom of fluidized bed (202) where largerparticles (including char) that are not fluidized may collect, and mayneed to be withdrawn from time to time.

In both configurations, catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32) shouldbe introduced at a point somewhere in the upper portion (202 b) offluidized bed (202) so that gases that may have volatized and beengenerated from catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32) are notpreferentially consumed by reaction with oxygen in lower portion (202c). In other words, it is desirable that carbon in solids ispreferentially consumed in the oxidation/combustion in lower portion(202 c) to the extent possible.

Hydromethanation reactor (200) is typically operated at moderately highpressures and temperatures, requiring introduction of solid streams(e.g., catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32) and recycle fines) tothe reaction chamber of the reactor while maintaining the requiredtemperature, pressure and flow rate of the streams. Those skilled in theart are familiar with feed inlets to supply solids into the reactionchambers having high pressure and/or temperature environments, includingstar feeders, screw feeders, rotary pistons and lock-hoppers. It shouldbe understood that the feed inlets can include two or morepressure-balanced elements, such as lock hoppers, which would be usedalternately. In some instances, the carbonaceous feedstock can beprepared at pressure conditions above the operating pressure of thereactor and, hence, the particulate composition can be directly passedinto the reactor without further pressurization. Gas for pressurizationcan be an inert gas such as nitrogen, or more typically a stream ofcarbon dioxide that can, for example be recycled from a carbon dioxidestream generated by an acid gas removal unit.

Hydromethanation reactor (200) is desirably operated at a moderatetemperature (as compared to conventional gasification processes), with atarget operating temperature of at least about 1000° F. (about 538° C.),or at least about 1100° F. (about 593° C.), to about 1500° F. (about816° C.), or to about 1400° F. (about 760° C.), or to about 1300° F.(704° C.); and a pressure of about 250 psig (about 1825 kPa, absolute),or about 400 psig (about 2860 kPa), or about 450 psig (about 3204 kPa),to about 800 psig (about 5617 kPa), or to about 700 psig (about 4928kPa), or to about 600 psig (about 4238 kPa), or to about 500 psig (about3549 kPa),.

Typical gas flow velocities in hydromethanation reactor (200) are fromabout 0.5 ft/sec (about 0.15 m/sec), or from about 1 ft/sec (about 0.3m/sec), to about 2.0 ft/sec (about 0.6 m/sec), or to about 1.5 ft/sec(about 0.45 m/sec).

As oxygen-rich gas stream (14) is fed into hydromethanation reactor(200), a portion of the carbonaceous feedstock (desirably carbon fromthe partially reacted feedstock, by-product char and recycled fines)will be consumed in an oxidation/combustion reaction, generating heatenergy as well as typically some amounts carbon monoxide and hydrogen(and typically other gases such as carbon dioxide and steam). Thevariation of the amount of oxygen supplied to hydromethanation reactor(200) provides an advantageous process control to ultimately maintainsyngas and heat balance. Increasing the amount of oxygen will increasethe oxidation/combustion, and therefore increase in situ heatgeneration. Decreasing the amount of oxygen will conversely decrease thein situ heat generation. The amount of syngas generated will ultimatelydepend on the amount of oxygen utilized, and higher amounts of oxygenmay result in a more complete combustion/oxidation to carbon dioxide andwater, as opposed to a more partial combustion to carbon monoxide andhydrogen.

The amount of oxygen supplied to hydromethanation reactor (200) must besufficient to combust/oxidize enough of the carbonaceous feedstock togenerate enough heat energy and syngas to meet the heat and syngasdemands of the steady-state hydromethanation reaction.

In one embodiment, the amount of molecular oxygen (as contained in theoxygen-rich gas stream (14)) that is provided to the hydromethanationreactor (200) can range from about 0.10, or from about 0.20, or fromabout 0.25, to about 0.6, or to about 0.5, or to about 0.4, or to about0.35 pounds of O₂ per pound of carbonaceous feedstock.

The hydromethanation and oxidation/combustion reactions will occurcontemporaneously. Depending on the configuration of hydromethanationreactor (200), the two steps predominant in separate zones—thehydromethanation in upper portion (202 b) of fluidized bed (202), andthe oxidation/combustion in lower portion (202 c) of fluidized bed(202). The oxygen-rich gas stream (14) is typically mixed withsuperheated steam stream (12) and the mixture introduced at or near thebottom of fluidized bed (202) in lower portion (202 c) to avoidformation of hot spots in the reactor, and to avoid (minimize)combustion of the desired gaseous products. If superheated syngas feedstream (16) is present, that stream will typically be introduced as amixture with steam stream (12), with oxygen-rich gas stream (14)introduced separately into lower portion (202 c) of fluidized bed (202)so as to not preferentially consume the syngas components.

The oxygen-rich gas stream (14) can be fed into hydromethanation reactor(200) by any suitable means such as direct injection of purified oxygen,oxygen-air mixtures, oxygen-steam mixtures, or oxygen-inert gas mixturesinto the reactor. See, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,753 andChiaramonte et al., Hydrocarbon Processing, September 1982, pp. 255-257.

The oxygen-rich gas stream (14) is typically generated via standardair-separation technologies, and will be fed mixed with steam, andintroduced at a temperature above about 250° F. (about 121° C.), toabout 400° F. (about 204° C.), or to about 350° F. (about 177° C.), orto about 300° F. (about 149° C.), and at a pressure at least slightlyhigher than present in hydromethanation reactor (200). The steam inoxygen-rich gas stream (14) should be non-condensable during transportof oxygen-rich stream (14) to hydromethanation reactor (200), sooxygen-rich stream (14) may need to be transported at a lower pressurethen pressurized (compressed) just prior to introduction intohydromethanation reactor (200).

As indicated above, the hydromethanation reaction has a steam demand, aheat demand and a syngas demand. These conditions in combination areimportant factors in determining the operating conditions for thehydromethanation reaction as well as the remainder of the process.

For example, the steam demand of the hydromethanation reaction requiresa molar ratio of steam to carbon (in the feedstock) of at least about 1.Typically, however, the molar ratio is greater than about 1, or fromabout 1.5 (or greater), to about 6 (or less), or to about 5 (or less),or to about 4 (or less), or to about 3 (or less), or to about 2 (orless). The moisture content of the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock(31+32), moisture generated from the carbonaceous feedstock in thehydromethanation reactor (200), and steam included in the superheatedsteam stream (12), oxygen-rich gas stream (14) and recycle finesstream(s) (and optional superheated syngas feed stream (16)), should besufficient to at least substantially satisfy (or at least satisfy) thesteam demand of the hydromethanation reaction.

As also indicated above, the hydromethanation reaction (step (b)) isessentially thermally balanced but, due to process heat losses and otherenergy requirements (for example, vaporization of moisture on thefeedstock), some heat must be generated in the hydromethanation reactionto maintain the thermal balance (the heat demand). The partialcombustion/oxidation of carbon in the presence of the oxygen introducedinto hydromethanation reactor (200) from oxygen-rich gas stream (14)should be sufficient to at least substantially satisfy (or at leastsatisfy) both the heat and syngas demand of the hydromethanationreaction.

The gas utilized in hydromethanation reactor (200) for pressurizationand reaction of the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32) comprisesthe superheated steam stream (12) and oxygen-rich gas stream (14) (andoptional superheated syngas feed stream (16)) and, optionally,additional nitrogen, air, or inert gases such as argon, which can besupplied to hydromethanation reactor (200) according to methods known tothose skilled in the art. As a consequence, the superheated steam stream(12) and oxygen-rich gas stream (14) must be provided at a higherpressure which allows them to enter hydromethanation reactor (200).

Desirably, all streams should be fed into hydromethanation reactor (200)at a temperature less than the target operating temperature of thehydromethanation reactor.

Superheated steam stream (12) can be at a temperature as low as thesaturation point at the feed pressure, but it is desirable to feed at atemperature above this to avoid the possibility of any condensationoccurring. Typical feed temperatures of superheated steam stream (12)are from about 500° F. (about 260° C.), or from about 600° F. (about316° C.), or from about 700° F. (about 371° C.), to about 950° F. (about510° C.), or to about 900° F. (about 482° C.). The temperature ofsuperheated steam stream (12) will ultimately depend on the level ofheat recovery from the process, as discussed below. In any event, nofuel fired superheater should be used in the superheating of steamstream (12) in steady-state operation of the process.

When superheated steam stream (12) and oxygen-rich stream (14) arecombined for feeding into lower section (202 c) of fluidized bed (202),the temperature of the combined stream will typically range from aboutfrom about 500° F. (about 260° C.), or from about 600° F. (about 316°C.), or from about 700° F. (about 371° C.), to about 900° F. (about 482°C.), or to about 850° F. (about 454° C.).

The temperature in hydromethanation reactor (200) can be controlled, forexample, by controlling the amount and temperature of the superheatedsteam stream (12), as well as the amount of oxygen supplied tohydromethanation reactor (200).

Advantageously, steam for the hydromethanation reaction is generatedfrom other process operations through process heat capture (such asgenerated in a waste heat boiler, generally referred to as “processsteam” or “process-generated steam”) and, in some embodiments, is solelysupplied as process-generated steam. For example, process steam streamsgenerated by a heat exchanger unit or waste heat boiler can be fed tohydromethanation reactor (200) as part of superheated steam stream (12),such as disclosed, for example, in previously incorporatedUS2010/0287835A1 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/211,476(FN-0063 US NP1), and as discussed below.

In certain embodiments, the overall process described herein is at leastsubstantially steam neutral, such that steam demand (pressure andamount) for the hydromethanation reaction can be satisfied via heatexchange with process heat at the different stages therein, or steampositive, such that excess steam is produced and can be used, forexample, for power generation. Desirably, process-generated steamaccounts for greater than about 95 wt %, or greater than about 97 wt %,or greater than about 99 wt %, or about 100 wt % or greater, of thesteam demand of the hydromethanation reaction.

The result of the hydromethanation reaction is a methane-enriched rawproduct, which is withdrawn from hydromethanation reactor (200) asmethane-enriched raw product stream (50) typically comprising CH₄, CO₂,H₂, CO, H₂S, unreacted steam and, optionally, other contaminants such asentrained fines, NH₃, COS, HCN and/or elemental mercury vapor, dependingon the nature of the carbonaceous material utilized forhydromethanation.

If the hydromethanation reaction is run in syngas balance, themethane-enriched raw product stream (50), upon exiting thehydromethanation reactor (200), will typically comprise at least about15 mol %, or at least about 18 mol %, or at least about 20 mol %,methane based on the moles of methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxideand hydrogen in the methane-enriched raw product stream (50). Inaddition, the methane-enriched raw product stream (50) will typicallycomprise at least about 50 mol % methane plus carbon dioxide, based onthe moles of methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen inthe methane-enriched raw product stream (50).

If the hydromethanation reaction is run in syngas excess, e.g., containsan excess of carbon monoxide and/or hydrogen above and beyond the syngasdemand (for example, excess carbon monoxide and/or hydrogen aregenerated due to the amount of oxygen-rich gas stream (14) fed tohydromethanation reactor (200)), then there may be some dilution effecton the molar percent of methane and carbon dioxide in methane-enrichedraw product stream (50).

The non-gaseous carbonaceous materials (10) useful in these processesinclude, for example, a wide variety of biomass and non-biomassmaterials. The carbonaceous feedstock (32) is derived from one or morenon-gaseous carbonaceous materials (10), which are processed in afeedstock preparation section (100) as discussed below.

The hydromethanation catalyst (31) can comprise one or more catalystspecies, as discussed below.

The carbonaceous feedstock (32) and the hydromethanation catalyst (31)are typically intimately mixed (i.e., to provide a catalyzedcarbonaceous feedstock (31+32)) before provision to the hydromethanationreactor (200).

Further Gas Processing Fines Removal

The hot gas effluent leaving the reaction chamber of thehydromethanation reactor (200) can pass through a fines remover unit(such as cyclone assembly (360)), incorporated into and/or external ofthe hydromethanation reactor (200), which serves as a disengagementzone. Particles too heavy to be entrained by the gas leaving thehydromethanation reactor (200) (i.e., fines) are returned to thehydromethanation reactor (200), for example, to the reaction chamber(e.g., fluidized bed (202)).

Residual entrained fines are substantially removed by any suitabledevice such as internal and/or external cyclone separators optionallyfollowed by Venturi scrubbers. As discussed above, at least a portion ofthese fines are returned to lower section (202 c) of fluidized bed (202)via recycle line (366). A portion may also be returned to upper portion(202 b) of fluidized bed (202) via recycle line (364). Any remainingrecovered fines can be processed to recover alkali metal catalyst, ordirectly recycled back to feedstock preparation as described inpreviously incorporated US2009/0217589A1.

Removal of a “substantial portion” of fines means that an amount offines is removed from the resulting gas stream such that downstreamprocessing is not adversely affected; thus, at least a substantialportion of fines should be removed. Some minor level of ultrafinematerial may remain in the resulting gas stream to the extent thatdownstream processing is not significantly adversely affected.Typically, at least about 90 wt %, or at least about 95 wt %, or atleast about 98 wt %, of the fines of a particle size greater than about20 μm, or greater than about 10 μm, or greater than about 5 μm, areremoved.

Heat Exchange

Depending on the hydromethanation conditions, the fines-depletedmethane-enriched raw product stream (52) can be generated having at atemperature ranging from about 1000° F. (about 538° C.) to about 1500°F. (about 816° C.), and more typically from about 1100° F. (about 593°C.) to about 1400° F. (about 760° C.), a pressure of from about 50 psig(about 446 kPa) to about 800 psig (about 5617 kPa), more typically fromabout 400 psig (about 2860 kPa) to about 600 psig (about 4238 kPa), anda velocity of from about 0.5 ft/sec (about 0.15 m/sec) to about 2.0ft/sec (about 0.61 m/sec), more typically from about 1.0 ft/sec (0.30m/sec) to about 1.5 ft/sec (about 0.46 m/sec).

The fines-depleted methane-enriched raw product stream (52) can be, forexample, provided to a heat recovery unit, e.g., first heat exchangerunit (400) as shown in FIG. 2. First heat exchanger unit (400) removesat least a portion of the heat energy from the fines-depletedmethane-enriched raw product stream (52) and reduces the temperature ofthe fines-depleted methane-enriched raw product stream (52) to generatea cooled methane-enriched raw product stream (70) having a temperatureless than the fines-depleted methane-enriched raw product stream (52).The heat energy recovered by second heat exchanger unit (400) can beused to generate a first process steam stream (40) of which at least aportion of the first process steam stream (40) can, for example, be fedback to the hydromethanation reactor (200).

In one embodiment, as depicted in FIG. 2, first heat exchanger unit(400) has both a steam boiler section (400 b) preceded by a superheatingsection (400 a). A stream of boiler feed water (39 a) can be passedthrough steam boiler section (400 b) to generate a first process steamstream (40), which is then passed through steam superheater (400 a) togenerate a superheated process steam stream (25) of a suitabletemperature and pressure for introduction into hydromethanation reactor(200). Steam superheater (400 a) can also be used to superheat otherrecycle steam streams (for example second process steam stream (43)) tothe extent required for feeding into the hydromethanation reactor (200).

The resulting cooled methane-enriched raw product stream (70) willtypically exit second heat exchanger unit (400) at a temperature rangingfrom about 450° F. (about 232° C.) to about 1100° F. (about 593° C.),more typically from about 550° F. (about 288° C.) to about 950° F.(about 510° C.), a pressure of from about 50 psig (about 446 kPa) toabout 800 psig (about 5617 kPa), more typically from about 400 psig(about 2860 kPa) to about 600 psig (about 4238 kPa), and a velocity offrom about 0.5 ft/sec (about 0.15 m/sec) to about 2.0 ft/sec (about 0.61m/sec), more typically from about 1.0 ft/sec (0.30 m/sec) to about 1.5ft/sec (about 0.46 m/sec).

Gas Purification

Product purification may comprise, for example, water-gas shiftprocesses (700), dehydration (450) and acid gas removal (800), andoptional trace contaminant removal (500) and optional ammonia removaland recovery (600).

Trace Contaminant Removal (500)

As is familiar to those skilled in the art, the contamination levels ofthe gas stream, e.g., cooled methane-enriched raw product stream (70),will depend on the nature of the carbonaceous material used forpreparing the carbonaceous feedstocks. For example, certain coals, suchas Illinois #6, can have high sulfur contents, leading to higher COScontamination; and other coals, such as Powder River Basin coals, cancontain significant levels of mercury which can be volatilized inhydromethanation reactor (200).

COS can be removed from a gas stream, e.g. the cooled methane-enrichedraw product stream (70), by COS hydrolysis (see, U.S. Pat. No.3,966,875, U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,066, U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,256, U.S. Pat.No. 4,482,529 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,050), passing the gas streamthrough particulate limestone (see, U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,465), an acidicbuffered CuSO₄ solution (see, U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,584), an alkanolamineabsorbent such as methyldiethanolamine, triethanolamine, dipropanolamineor diisopropanolamine, containing tetramethylene sulfone (sulfolane,see, U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,811); or counter-current washing of the cooledsecond gas stream with refrigerated liquid CO₂ (see, U.S. Pat. No.4,270,937 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,609,388).

HCN can be removed from a gas stream, e.g., the cooled methane-enrichedraw product stream (70), by reaction with ammonium sulfide orpolysulfide to generate CO₂, H₂S and NH₃ (see, U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,784,U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,881 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,693), or a two stagewash with formaldehyde followed by ammonium or sodium polysulfide (see,U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,826), absorbed by water (see, U.S. Pat. No.4,189,307), and/or decomposed by passing through alumina supportedhydrolysis catalysts such as MoO₃, TiO₂ and/or ZrO₂ (see, U.S. Pat. No.4,810,475, U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,807 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,465).

Elemental mercury can be removed from a gas stream, e.g., the cooledmethane-enriched raw product stream (70), for example, by absorption bycarbon activated with sulfuric acid (see, U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,393),absorption by carbon impregnated with sulfur (see, U.S. Pat. No.4,491,609), absorption by a H₂S-containing amine solvent (see, U.S. Pat.No. 4,044,098), absorption by silver or gold impregnated zeolites (see,U.S. Pat. No. 4,892,567), oxidation to HgO with hydrogen peroxide andmethanol (see, U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,122), oxidation with bromine oriodine containing compounds in the presence of SO₂ (see, U.S. Pat. No.6,878,358), oxidation with a H, Cl and O-containing plasma (see, U.S.Pat. No. 6,969,494), and/or oxidation by a chlorine-containing oxidizinggas (e.g., ClO, see, U.S. Pat. No. 7,118,720).

When aqueous solutions are utilized for removal of any or all of COS,HCN and/or Hg, the waste water generated in the trace contaminantsremoval units can be directed to a waste water treatment unit (notdepicted).

When present, a trace contaminant removal of a particular tracecontaminant should remove at least a substantial portion (orsubstantially all) of that trace contaminant from the so-treated gasstream (e.g., cooled methane-enriched raw product stream (70)),typically to levels at or lower than the specification limits of thedesired product stream. Typically, a trace contaminant removal shouldremove at least 90%, or at least 95%, or at least 98%, of COS, HCNand/or mercury from a cooled first gas stream, based on the weight ofthe contaminant in the prior to treatment.

Ammonia Removal and Recovery (600)

As is familiar to those skilled in the art, gasification of biomass,certain coals, certain petroleum cokes and/or utilizing air as an oxygensource for hydromethanation reactor (200) can produce significantquantities of ammonia in the product stream. Optionally, a gas stream,e.g. the cooled methane-enriched raw product stream (70), can bescrubbed by water in one or more ammonia removal and recovery units(600) to remove and recover ammonia.

The ammonia recovery treatment may be performed, for example, on thecooled methane-enriched raw product stream (70), directly from heatexchanger (400) or after treatment in one or both of (i) one or more ofthe trace contaminants removal units (500), and (ii) one or more sourshift units (700).

After scrubbing, the gas stream, e.g., the cooled methane-enriched rawproduct stream (70), will typically comprise at least H₂S, CO₂, CO, H₂and CH₄. When the cooled methane-enriched raw product stream (70) haspreviously passed through a sour shift unit (700), then, afterscrubbing, the gas stream will typically comprise at least H₂S, CO₂, H₂and CH₄.

Ammonia can be recovered from the scrubber water according to methodsknown to those skilled in the art, can typically be recovered as anaqueous solution (61) (e.g., 20 wt %). The waste scrubber water can beforwarded to a waste water treatment unit (not depicted).

When present, an ammonia removal process should remove at least asubstantial portion (and substantially all) of the ammonia from thescrubbed stream, e.g., the cooled methane-enriched raw product stream(70). “Substantial” removal in the context of ammonia removal meansremoval of a high enough percentage of the component such that a desiredend product can be generated. Typically, an ammonia removal process willremove at least about 95%, or at least about 97%, of the ammonia contentof a scrubbed first gas stream, based on the weight of ammonia in thestream prior to treatment.

Water-Gas Shift (700)

A portion or all of the methane-enriched raw product stream (e.g.,cooled methane-enriched raw product stream (70)) is supplied to awater-gas shift reactor, such as sour shift reactor (700).

In sour shift reactor (700), the gases undergo a sour shift reaction(also known as a water-gas shift reaction) in the presence of an aqueousmedium (such as steam) to convert at least a predominant portion (or asubstantial portion, or substantially all) of the CO to CO₂ and toincrease the fraction of H₂. The generation of increased hydrogencontent is utilized, for example, to optimize hydrogen production, or tootherwise optimize H₂/CO ratios for downstream methanation.

The water-gas shift treatment may be performed on the cooledmethane-enriched raw product stream (70) passed directly from heatexchanger (400), or on the cooled methane-enriched raw product stream(70) that has passed through a trace contaminants removal unit (500)and/or an ammonia removal unit (600).

A sour shift process is described in detail, for example, in U.S. Pat.No. 7,074,373. The process involves adding water, or using watercontained in the gas, and reacting the resulting water-gas mixtureadiabatically over a steam reforming catalyst. Typical steam reformingcatalysts include one or more Group VIII metals on a heat-resistantsupport.

Methods and reactors for performing the sour gas shift reaction on aCO-containing gas stream are well known to those of skill in the art.Suitable reaction conditions and suitable reactors can vary depending onthe amount of CO that must be depleted from the gas stream. In someembodiments, the sour gas shift can be performed in a single stagewithin a temperature range from about 100° C., or from about 150° C., orfrom about 200° C., to about 250° C., or to about 300° C., or to about350° C. In these embodiments, the shift reaction can be catalyzed by anysuitable catalyst known to those of skill in the art. Such catalystsinclude, but are not limited to, Fe₂O₃-based catalysts, such asFe₂O₃—Cr₂O₃ catalysts, and other transition metal-based and transitionmetal oxide-based catalysts. In other embodiments, the sour gas shiftcan be performed in multiple stages. In one particular embodiment, thesour gas shift is performed in two stages. This two-stage process uses ahigh-temperature sequence followed by a low-temperature sequence. Thegas temperature for the high-temperature shift reaction ranges fromabout 350° C. to about 1050° C. Typical high-temperature catalystsinclude, but are not limited to, iron oxide optionally combined withlesser amounts of chromium oxide. The gas temperature for thelow-temperature shift ranges from about 150° C. to about 300° C., orfrom about 200° C. to about 250° C. Low-temperature shift catalystsinclude, but are not limited to, copper oxides that may be supported onzinc oxide or alumina. Suitable methods for the sour shift process aredescribed in previously incorporated US2009/0246120A1.

The sour shift reaction is exothermic so it is often carried out with aheat exchanger, such as second heat exchanger unit (401), to permit theefficient use of heat energy. Shift reactors employing these featuresare well known to those of skill in the art. An example of a suitableshift reactor is illustrated in previously incorporated U.S. Pat. No.7,074,373, although other designs known to those of skill in the art arealso effective.

Following the sour gas shift procedure, the resulting hydrogen-enrichedraw product stream (72) generally contains CH₄, CO₂, H₂, H₂S, steam,optionally CO and optionally minor amounts of other contaminants.

As indicated above, the hydrogen-enriched raw product stream (72) can beprovided to a heat recovery unit, e.g., second heat exchanger unit(401). While second heat exchanger unit (401) is depicted in FIG. 2 as aseparate unit, it can exist as such and/or be integrated into the sourshift reactor (700), thus being capable of cooling the sour shiftreactor (700) and removing at least a portion of the heat energy fromthe hydrogen-enriched raw product stream (72) to reduce the temperatureand generate a cooled stream.

At least a portion of the recovered heat energy can be used to generatea second process steam stream from a water/steam source.

In a specific embodiment as depicted in FIG. 2, the hydrogen-enrichedraw product stream (72), upon exiting sour shift reactor (700), isintroduced into a superheater (401 a) followed by a boiler feed waterpreheater (401 b). Superheater (401 a) can be used, for example, tosuperheat a stream (42 a) which can be a portion of cooledmethane-enriched raw product stream (70), to generate a superheatedstream (42 b) which is then recombined into cooled methane-enriched rawproduct stream (70). Alternatively, all of cooled methane-enrichedproduct stream can be preheated in superheater (401 a) and subsequentlyfed into sour shift reactor (700) as superheated stream (42 b). Boilerfeed water preheater (401 b) can be used, for example, to preheat boilerfeed water (46) to generate a preheated boiler water feed stream (39)for one or more of first heat exchanger unit (400) and third heatexchanger unit (403), as well as other steam generation operations.

If it is desired to retain some of the carbon monoxide content of themethane-enriched raw product stream (50), a gas bypass loop (71) incommunication with the first heat recovery unit (400) can be provided toallow some of the cooled methane-enriched raw product stream (70)exiting the first heat exchanger unit (400) to bypass the sour shiftreactor (700) and second heat exchanger unit (401) altogether, and becombined with hydrogen-enriched raw product stream (72) at some pointprior to dehydration unit (450) and/or acid gas removal unit (800). Thisis particularly useful when it is desired to recover a separate methaneproduct, as the retained carbon monoxide can be subsequently methanatedas discussed below.

Dehydration (450)

Subsequent to sour shift reactor (700) and second heat exchanger unit(401), and prior to acid gas removal unit (800), the hydrogen-enrichedraw product stream (72) is typically treated to reduce water content invia a knock-out drum or similar water separation device (450). Aresulting waste water stream (47) (which will be a sour water stream)can be sent to a wastewater treatment unit (not depicted) for furtherprocessing. The resulting dehydrated hydrogen-enriched raw productstream (72 a) is sent to acid gas removal unit (800) as discussed below.

Acid Gas Removal (800)

A subsequent acid gas removal unit (800) is used to remove a substantialportion of H₂S and a substantial portion of CO₂ from the dehydratedhydrogen-enriched raw product stream (72 a) and generate a sweetened gasstream (80).

Acid gas removal processes typically involve contacting a gas streamwith a solvent such as monoethanolamine, diethanolamine,methyldiethanolamine, diisopropylamine, diglycolamine, a solution ofsodium salts of amino acids, methanol, hot potassium carbonate or thelike to generate CO₂ and/or H₂S laden absorbers. One method can involvethe use of Selexol® (UOP LLC, Des Plaines, Ill. USA) or Rectisol® (LurgiAG, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) solvent having two trains; each traincontaining an H₂S absorber and a CO₂ absorber.

One method for removing acid gases is described in previouslyincorporated US2009/0220406A1.

At least a substantial portion (e.g., substantially all) of the CO₂and/or H₂ 5 (and other remaining trace contaminants) should be removedvia the acid gas removal processes. “Substantial” removal in the contextof acid gas removal means removal of a high enough percentage of thecomponent such that a desired end product can be generated. The actualamounts of removal may thus vary from component to component. For“pipeline-quality natural gas”, only trace amounts (at most) of H₂S canbe present, although higher (but still small) amounts of CO₂ may betolerable.

Typically, at least about 85%, or at least about 90%, or at least about92%, of the CO₂ should be removed from the dehydrated hydrogen-enrichedraw product stream (72 a). Typically, at least about 95%, or at leastabout 98%, or at least about 99.5%, of the H₂S, should be removed fromthe dehydrated hydrogen-enriched raw product stream (72 a).

Losses of desired product (hydrogen and/or methane) in the acid gasremoval step should be minimized such that the sweetened gas stream (80)comprises at least a substantial portion (and substantially all) of themethane and hydrogen from the dehydrated hydrogen-enriched raw productstream (72 a). Typically, such losses should be about 2 mol % or less,or about 1.5 mol % or less, or about 1 mol % of less, respectively, ofthe methane and hydrogen from the dehydrated hydrogen-enriched rawproduct stream (72 a).

The resulting sweetened gas stream (80) will generally comprise CH₄, H₂and optionally CO (for the downstream methanation), and typically smallamounts of CO₂ and H₂O.

Any recovered H₂S (78) from the acid gas removal (and other processessuch as sour water stripping) can be converted to elemental sulfur byany method known to those skilled in the art, including the Clausprocess. Sulfur can be recovered as a molten liquid.

Any recovered CO₂ (79) from the acid gas removal can be compressed fortransport in CO₂ pipelines, industrial use, and/or sequestration forstorage or other processes such as enhanced oil recovery.

The resulting sweetened gas stream (80) may, for example, be utilizeddirectly as a medium/high BTU fuel source, or as a feed for a fuel cellsuch as disclosed in previously incorporated U.S. patent applicationSer. Nos. 13/031,486 and 13/039,995, or further processed as describedbelow.

Hydrogen Separation Unit (850)

Hydrogen may be separated from the sweetened gas stream (80) accordingto methods known to those skilled in the art, such as cryogenicdistillation, the use of molecular sieves, gas separation (e.g.,ceramic) membranes, and/or pressure swing adsorption (PSA) techniques.See, for example, previously incorporated US2009/0259080A1.

In one embodiment, a PSA device is utilized for hydrogen separation. PSAtechnology for separation of hydrogen from gas mixtures containingmethane (and optionally carbon monoxide) is in general well-known tothose of ordinary skill in the relevant art as disclosed, for example,in U.S. Pat. No. 6,379,645 (and other citations referenced therein). PSAdevices are generally commercially available, for example, based ontechnologies available from Air Products and Chemicals Inc. (Allentown,Pa.), UOP LLC (Des Plaines, Ill.) and others.

In another embodiment, a hydrogen membrane separator can be usedfollowed by a PSA device.

Such separation provides a high-purity hydrogen product stream (85) anda hydrogen-depleted sweetened gas stream (82).

The recovered hydrogen product stream (85) preferably has a purity of atleast about 99 mole %, or at least 99.5 mole %, or at least about 99.9mole %.

The hydrogen product stream (85) can be used, for example, as an energysource and/or as a reactant. For example, the hydrogen can be used as anenergy source for hydrogen-based fuel cells, for power and/or steamgeneration (see 980, 982 and 984 in FIG. 2), and/or for a subsequenthydromethanation process. The hydrogen can also be used as a reactant invarious hydrogenation processes, such as found in the chemical andpetroleum refining industries.

The hydrogen-depleted sweetened gas stream (82) will comprisesubstantially methane, with optional minor amounts of carbon monoxide(depending primarily on the extent of the sour shift reaction andbypass), carbon dioxide (depending primarily on the effectiveness of theacid gas removal process) and hydrogen (depending primarily on theextent and effectiveness of the hydrogen separation technology). Thehydrogen-depleted sweetened gas stream (82) can be utilized directly,and/or can be further processed/utilized as described below.

Methanation (950)

All or a portion of sweetened gas stream (80) or hydrogen-depletedsweetened gas stream (82) may be used directly as a methane productstream (99), or all or a portion of those streams may be furtherprocessed/purified to produce methane product stream (99).

In one embodiment, sweetened gas stream (80) or hydrogen-depletedsweetened gas stream (82) is fed to a trim methanator (950) to generateadditional methane from the carbon monoxide and hydrogen that may bepresent in those streams, resulting in a methane-enriched product stream(97).

If a hydrogen separation unit (850) is present, a portion of sweetenedgas stream (80) may bypass hydrogen separation unit (850) via bypassline (86) to adjust the hydrogen content of hydrogen-depleted sweetenedgas stream (82) to optimize the H₂/CO ratio for methanation.

The methanation reaction can be carried out in any suitable reactor,e.g., a single-stage methanation reactor, a series of single-stagemethanation reactors or a multistage reactor. Methanation reactorsinclude, without limitation, fixed bed, moving bed or fluidized bedreactors. See, for instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,957, U.S. Pat. No.4,252,771, U.S. Pat. No. 3,996,014 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,044.Methanation reactors and catalysts are generally commercially available.The catalyst used in the methanation, and methanation conditions, aregenerally known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art, and willdepend, for example, on the temperature, pressure, flow rate andcomposition of the incoming gas stream.

As the methanation reaction is highly exothermic, in various embodimentsthe methane-enriched product gas stream (97) may be, for example,further provided to a heat recovery unit, e.g., third heat exchangerunit (403). While third heat exchanger unit (403) is depicted as aseparate unit, it can exist as such and/or be integrated into methanator(950), thus being capable of cooling the methanator unit and removing atleast a portion of the heat energy from the methane-enriched gas streamto reduce the temperature of the methane-enriched gas stream. Therecovered heat energy can be utilized to generate a second process steamstream (43) from a water and/or steam source (39 b). Although notdepicted as such in FIG. 2, third heat exchanger unit (403) may comprisea superheating section followed by a boiler section such as previouslydescribed for first heat exchanger unit (400). Because of the highlyexothermic nature of the methanation reaction, second process stream(43) will typically not require further superheating, and all or aportion may be combined with all or a portion superheated process steamstream (25) for use as superheated steam stream (12). If necessary,however, a superheater (990) may be used to superheat superheated steamstream (12) to the desired temperature for feeding into hydromethanationreactor (200).

Methane-enriched product gas stream (97) can be utilized as methaneproduct stream (99) or, it can be further processed, when necessary, toseparate and recover CH₄ by any suitable gas separation method known tothose skilled in the art including, but not limited to, cryogenicdistillation and the use of molecular sieves or gas separation (e.g.,ceramic) membranes. Additional gas purification methods include, forexample, the generation of methane hydrate as disclosed in previouslyincorporated US2009/0260287A1, US2009/0259080A1 and US2009/0246120A1.

Pipeline-Quality Natural Gas

The invention provides processes and systems that, in certainembodiments, are capable of generating “pipeline-quality natural gas”(or “pipeline-quality substitute natural gas”) from the hydromethanationof non-gaseous carbonaceous materials. A “pipeline-quality natural gas”typically refers to a methane-containing stream that is (1) within ±5%of the heating value of pure methane (whose heating value is 1010btu/ft³ under standard atmospheric conditions), (2) substantially freeof water (typically a dew point of about −40° C. or less), and (3)substantially free of toxic or corrosive contaminants. In someembodiments of the invention, the methane product stream (99) describedin the above processes satisfies such requirements.

Waste Water Treatment

Residual contaminants in waste water resulting from any one or more ofthe trace contaminant removal, sour shift, ammonia removal, acid gasremoval and/or catalyst recovery processes can be removed in a wastewater treatment unit to allow recycling of the recovered water withinthe plant and/or disposal of the water from the plant process accordingto any methods known to those skilled in the art. Depending on thefeedstock and reaction conditions, such residual contaminants cancomprise, for example, aromatics, CO, CO₂, H₂S, COS, HCN, ammonia, andmercury. For example, H₂S and HCN can be removed by acidification of thewaste water to a pH of about 3, treating the acidic waste water with aninert gas in a stripping column, and increasing the pH to about 10 andtreating the waste water a second time with an inert gas to removeammonia (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,236,557). H₂S can be removed by treatingthe waste water with an oxidant in the presence of residual cokeparticles to convert the H₂S to insoluble sulfates which may be removedby flotation or filtration (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,425). Aromatics canbe removed by contacting the waste water with a carbonaceous charoptionally containing mono- and divalent basic inorganic compounds(e.g., the solid char product or the depleted char after catalystrecovery, supra) and adjusting the pH (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,615).Aromatics can also be removed by extraction with an organic solventfollowed by treatment of the waste water in a stripping column (see U.S.Pat. No. 3972693, U.S. Pat. No. 4,025,423 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,902).

Process Steam

A steam feed loop can be provided for feeding the various process steamstreams (e.g., 25/40 and 43) generated from heat energy recovery.

The process steam streams can be generated by contacting a water/steamsource (such as (39 a) and (39 b)) with the heat energy recovered fromthe various process operations using one or more heat recovery units,such as first and third heat exchanger units (400) and (403).

Any suitable heat recovery unit known in the art may be used. Forexample, a steam boiler or any other suitable steam generator (such as ashell/tube heat exchanger) that can utilize the recovered heat energy togenerate steam can be used. The heat exchangers may also function assuperheaters for steam streams, such as (400 a) in FIG. 2, so that heatrecovery through one of more stages of the process can be used tosuperheat the steam to a desired temperature and pressure, thuseliminating the need for separate fuel fired superheaters.

While any water source can be used to generate steam, the water commonlyused in known boiler systems is purified and deionized (about 0.3-1.0μS/cm) so that corrosive processes are slowed.

In one embodiment of the present process, the hydromethanation reactionwill have a steam demand (temperature, pressure and volume), and theamount of process steam and process heat recovery is sufficient toprovide at least about 97 wt %, or at least about 98 wt %, or at leastabout 99 wt %, or at least about 100% of this total steam demand. Ifneeded, the remaining about 3 wt % or less, or about 2 wt % or less, orabout 1 wt % or less, can be supplied by a make-up steam stream, whichcan be fed into the system as (or as a part of) steam stream (12). Insteady-state operation of the process, the process steam should be anamount of a sufficient temperature and pressure to meet the steam demandof the hydromethanation reaction.

If needed, a suitable steam boiler or steam generator can be used toprovide the make-up steam stream. Such boilers can be powered, forexample, through the use of any carbonaceous material such as powderedcoal, biomass etc., and including but not limited to rejectedcarbonaceous materials from the feedstock preparation operations (e.g.,fines, supra). In one embodiment, such an additional steamboiler/generator may be present, but is not used in steady stateoperation.

In another embodiment, the process steam stream or streams supply atleast all of the total steam demand for the hydromethanation reaction,in which during steady state operation there is substantially no make-upsteam stream.

In another embodiment, an excess of process steam is generated. Theexcess steam can be used, for example, for power generation via a steamturbine, and/or drying the carbonaceous feedstock in a fluid bed drierto a desired reduced moisture content, as discussed below.

Power Generation

A portion of the methane product stream (99) can be utilized forcombustion (980) and steam generation (982), as can a portion of anyrecovered hydrogen (85). As indicated above, excess recycle steam may beprovided to one or more power generators (984), such as a combustion orsteam turbine, to produce electricity which may be either utilizedwithin the plant or can be sold onto the power grid.

Preparation of Carbonaceous Feedstocks

Carbonaceous materials processing (100)

Particulate carbonaceous materials, such as biomass and non-biomass, canbe prepared via crushing and/or grinding, either separately or together,according to any methods known in the art, such as impact crushing andwet or dry grinding to yield one or more carbonaceous particulates.Depending on the method utilized for crushing and/or grinding of thecarbonaceous material sources, the resulting carbonaceous particulatesmay be sized (i.e., separated according to size) to provide thecarbonaceous feedstock (32) for use in catalyst loading processes (350)to form a catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32) for thehydromethanation reactor (200).

Any method known to those skilled in the art can be used to size theparticulates. For example, sizing can be performed by screening orpassing the particulates through a screen or number of screens.Screening equipment can include grizzlies, bar screens, and wire meshscreens. Screens can be static or incorporate mechanisms to shake orvibrate the screen. Alternatively, classification can be used toseparate the carbonaceous particulates. Classification equipment caninclude ore sorters, gas cyclones, hydrocyclones, rake classifiers,rotating trommels or fluidized classifiers. The carbonaceous materialscan be also sized or classified prior to grinding and/or crushing.

The carbonaceous particulate can be supplied as a fine particulatehaving an average particle size of from about 25 microns, or from about45 microns, up to about 2500 microns, or up to about 500 microns. Oneskilled in the art can readily determine the appropriate particle sizefor the carbonaceous particulates. For example, when a fluidized bedreactor is used, such carbonaceous particulates can have an averageparticle size which enables incipient fluidization of the carbonaceousmaterials at the gas velocity used in the fluidized bed reactor.Desirable particle size ranges for the hydromethanation reactor (200)are in the Geldart A and Geldart B ranges (including overlap between thetwo), depending on fluidization conditions, typically with limitedamounts of fine (below about 25 microns) and coarse (greater than about250 microns) material.

Additionally, certain carbonaceous materials, for example, corn stoverand switchgrass, and industrial wastes, such as saw dust, either may notbe amenable to crushing or grinding operations, or may not be suitablefor use as such, for example due to ultra fine particle sizes. Suchmaterials may be formed into pellets or briquettes of a suitable sizefor crushing or for direct use in, for example, a fluidized bed reactor.Generally, pellets can be prepared by compaction of one or morecarbonaceous material; see for example, previously incorporatedUS2009/0218424A1. In other examples, a biomass material and a coal canbe formed into briquettes as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,249,471, U.S.Pat. No. 4,152,119 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,225,457. Such pellets orbriquettes can be used interchangeably with the preceding carbonaceousparticulates in the following discussions.

Additional feedstock processing steps may be necessary depending on thequalities of carbonaceous material sources. Biomass may contain highmoisture contents, such as green plants and grasses, and may requiredrying prior to crushing. Municipal wastes and sewages also may containhigh moisture contents which may be reduced, for example, by use of apress or roll mill (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,436,028). Likewise,non-biomass, such as high-moisture coal, can require drying prior tocrushing. Some caking coals can require partial oxidation to simplifyoperation. Non-biomass feedstocks deficient in ion-exchange sites, suchas anthracites or petroleum cokes, can be pre-treated to createadditional ion-exchange sites to facilitate catalyst loading and/orassociation. Such pre-treatments can be accomplished by any method knownto the art that creates ion-exchange capable sites and/or enhances theporosity of the feedstock (see, for example, previously incorporatedU.S. Pat. No. 4,468,231 and GB1599932). Oxidative pre-treatment can beaccomplished using any oxidant known to the art.

The ratio and types of the carbonaceous materials in the carbonaceousparticulates can be selected based on technical considerations,processing economics, availability, and proximity of the non-biomass andbiomass sources. The availability and proximity of the sources for thecarbonaceous materials can affect the price of the feeds, and thus theoverall production costs of the catalytic gasification process. Forexample, the biomass and the non-biomass materials can be blended in atabout 5:95, about 10:90, about 15:85, about 20:80, about 25:75, about30:70, about 35:65, about 40:60, about 45:55, about 50:50, about 55:45,about 60:40, about 65:35, about 70:20, about 75:25, about 80:20, about85:15, about 90:10, or about 95:5 by weight on a wet or dry basis,depending on the processing conditions.

Significantly, the carbonaceous material sources, as well as the ratioof the individual components of the carbonaceous particulates, forexample, a biomass particulate and a non-biomass particulate, can beused to control other material characteristics of the carbonaceousparticulates. Non-biomass materials, such as coals, and certain biomassmaterials, such as rice hulls, typically include significant quantitiesof inorganic matter including calcium, alumina and silica which forminorganic oxides (i.e., ash) in the catalytic gasifier. At temperaturesabove about 500° C. to about 600° C., potassium and other alkali metalscan react with the alumina and silica in ash to form insoluble alkalialuminosilicates. In this form, the alkali metal is substantiallywater-insoluble and inactive as a catalyst. To prevent buildup of theresidue in the hydromethanation reactor (200), a solid purge ofby-product char (58) (and (58 a)) comprising ash, unreacted carbonaceousmaterial, and various other compounds (such as alkali metal compounds,both water soluble and water insoluble) is routinely withdrawn.

In preparing the carbonaceous particulates, the ash content of thevarious carbonaceous materials can be selected to be, for example, about20 wt % or less, or about 15 wt % or less, or about 10 wt % or less, orabout 5 wt % or less, depending on, for example, the ratio of thevarious carbonaceous materials and/or the starting ash in the variouscarbonaceous materials. In other embodiments, the resulting thecarbonaceous particulates can comprise an ash content ranging from about5 wt %, or from about 10 wt %, to about 20 wt %, or to about 15 wt %,based on the weight of the carbonaceous particulate. In otherembodiments, the ash content of the carbonaceous particulate cancomprise less than about 20 wt %, or less than about 15 wt %, or lessthan about 10 wt %, or less than about 8 wt %, or less than about 6 wt %alumina, based on the weight of the ash. In certain embodiments, thecarbonaceous particulates can comprise an ash content of less than about20 wt %, based on the weight of processed feedstock where the ashcontent of the carbonaceous particulate comprises less than about 20 wt% alumina, or less than about 15 wt % alumina, based on the weight ofthe ash.

Such lower alumina values in the carbonaceous particulates allow for,ultimately, decreased losses of catalysts, and particularly alkali metalcatalysts, in the hydromethanation portion of the process. As indicatedabove, alumina can react with alkali source to yield an insoluble charcomprising, for example, an alkali aluminate or aluminosilicate. Suchinsoluble char can lead to decreased catalyst recovery (i.e., increasedcatalyst loss), and thus, require additional costs of make-up catalystin the overall process.

Additionally, the resulting carbonaceous particulates can have asignificantly higher % carbon, and thus btu/lb value and methane productper unit weight of the carbonaceous particulate. In certain embodiments,the resulting carbonaceous particulates can have a carbon contentranging from about 75 wt %, or from about 80 wt %, or from about 85 wt%, or from about 90 wt %, up to about 95 wt %, based on the combinedweight of the non-biomass and biomass.

In one example, a non-biomass and/or biomass is wet ground and sized(e.g., to a particle size distribution of from about 25 to about 2500μm) and then drained of its free water (i.e., dewatered) to a wet cakeconsistency. Examples of suitable methods for the wet grinding, sizing,and dewatering are known to those skilled in the art; for example, seepreviously incorporated US2009/0048476A1. The filter cakes of thenon-biomass and/or biomass particulates formed by the wet grinding inaccordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure can have amoisture content ranging from about 40% to about 60%, or from about 40%to about 55%, or below 50%. It will be appreciated by one of ordinaryskill in the art that the moisture content of dewatered wet groundcarbonaceous materials depends on the particular type of carbonaceousmaterials, the particle size distribution, and the particular dewateringequipment used. Such filter cakes can be thermally treated, as describedherein, to produce one or more reduced moisture carbonaceousparticulates.

Each of the one or more carbonaceous particulates can have a uniquecomposition, as described above. For example, two carbonaceousparticulates can be utilized, where a first carbonaceous particulatecomprises one or more biomass materials and the second carbonaceousparticulate comprises one or more non-biomass materials. Alternatively,a single carbonaceous particulate comprising one or more carbonaceousmaterials utilized.

Catalyst Loading for Hydromethanation (350)

The hydromethanation catalyst is potentially active for catalyzing atleast reactions (I), (II) and (III) described above. Such catalysts arein a general sense well known to those of ordinary skill in the relevantart and may include, for example, alkali metals, alkaline earth metalsand transition metals, and compounds and complexes thereof Typically,the hydromethanation catalyst comprises at least an alkali metal, suchas disclosed in many of the previously incorporated references.

For the hydromethanation reaction, the one or more carbonaceousparticulates are typically further processed to associate at least onehydromethanation catalyst, typically comprising a source of at least onealkali metal, to generate a catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32). Ifa liquid carbonaceous material is used, the hydromethanation catalystmay for example be intimately mixed into the liquid carbonaceousmaterial.

The carbonaceous particulate provided for catalyst loading can be eithertreated to form a catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32) which ispassed to the hydromethanation reactor (200), or split into one or moreprocessing streams, where at least one of the processing streams isassociated with a hydromethanation catalyst to form at least onecatalyst-treated feedstock stream. The remaining processing streams canbe, for example, treated to associate a second component therewith.Additionally, the catalyst-treated feedstock stream can be treated asecond time to associate a second component therewith. The secondcomponent can be, for example, a second hydromethanation catalyst, aco-catalyst, or other additive.

In one example, the primary hydromethanation catalyst (alkali metalcompound) can be provided to the single carbonaceous particulate (e.g.,a potassium and/or sodium source), followed by a separate treatment toprovide one or more co-catalysts and additives (e.g., a calcium source)to the same single carbonaceous particulate to yield the catalyzedcarbonaceous feedstock (31+32). For example, see previously incorporatedUS2009/0217590A1 and US2009/0217586A1.

The hydromethanation catalyst and second component can also be providedas a mixture in a single treatment to the single second carbonaceousparticulate to yield the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32).

When one or more carbonaceous particulates are provided for catalystloading, then at least one of the carbonaceous particulates isassociated with a hydromethanation catalyst to form at least onecatalyst-treated feedstock stream. Further, any of the carbonaceousparticulates can be split into one or more processing streams asdetailed above for association of a second or further componenttherewith. The resulting streams can be blended in any combination toprovide the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32), provided at leastone catalyst-treated feedstock stream is utilized to form the catalyzedfeedstock stream.

In one embodiment, at least one carbonaceous particulate is associatedwith a hydromethanation catalyst and optionally, a second component. Inanother embodiment, each carbonaceous particulate is associated with ahydromethanation catalyst and optionally, a second component.

Any methods known to those skilled in the art can be used to associateone or more hydromethanation catalysts with any of the carbonaceousparticulates and/or processing streams. Such methods include but are notlimited to, admixing with a solid catalyst source and impregnating thecatalyst onto the processed carbonaceous material. Several impregnationmethods known to those skilled in the art can be employed to incorporatethe hydromethanation catalysts. These methods include but are notlimited to, incipient wetness impregnation, evaporative impregnation,vacuum impregnation, dip impregnation, ion exchanging, and combinationsof these methods.

In one embodiment, an alkali metal hydromethanation catalyst can beimpregnated into one or more of the carbonaceous particulates and/orprocessing streams by slurrying with a solution (e.g., aqueous) of thecatalyst in a loading tank. When slurried with a solution of thecatalyst and/or co-catalyst, the resulting slurry can be dewatered toprovide a catalyst-treated feedstock stream, again typically, as a wetcake. The catalyst solution can be prepared from any catalyst source inthe present processes, including fresh or make-up catalyst and recycledcatalyst or catalyst solution. Methods for dewatering the slurry toprovide a wet cake of the catalyst-treated feedstock stream includefiltration (gravity or vacuum), centrifugation, and a fluid press.

In another embodiment, as disclosed in previously incorporatedUS2010/0168495A1, the carbonaceous particulates are combined with anaqueous catalyst solution to generate a substantially non-draining wetcake, then mixed under elevated temperature conditions and finally driedto an appropriate moisture level.

One particular method suitable for combining a coal particulate and/or aprocessing stream comprising coal with a hydromethanation catalyst toprovide a catalyst-treated feedstock stream is via ion exchange asdescribed in previously incorporated US2009/0048476A1 andUS2010/0168494A1. Catalyst loading by ion exchange mechanism can bemaximized based on adsorption isotherms specifically developed for thecoal, as discussed in the incorporated reference. Such loading providesa catalyst-treated feedstock stream as a wet cake. Additional catalystretained on the ion-exchanged particulate wet cake, including inside thepores, can be controlled so that the total catalyst target value can beobtained in a controlled manner. The total amount of catalyst loaded canbe controlled by controlling the concentration of catalyst components inthe solution, as well as the contact time, temperature and method, asdisclosed in the aforementioned incorporated references, and as canotherwise be readily determined by those of ordinary skill in therelevant art based on the characteristics of the starting coal.

In another example, one of the carbonaceous particulates and/orprocessing streams can be treated with the hydromethanation catalyst anda second processing stream can be treated with a second component (seepreviously incorporated US2007/0000177A1).

The carbonaceous particulates, processing streams, and/orcatalyst-treated feedstock streams resulting from the preceding can beblended in any combination to provide the catalyzed second carbonaceousfeedstock, provided at least one catalyst-treated feedstock stream isutilized to form the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32).Ultimately, the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32) is passed ontothe hydromethanation reactor(s) (200).

Generally, each catalyst loading unit comprises at least one loadingtank to contact one or more of the carbonaceous particulates and/orprocessing streams with a solution comprising at least onehydromethanation catalyst, to form one or more catalyst-treatedfeedstock streams. Alternatively, the catalytic component may be blendedas a solid particulate into one or more carbonaceous particulates and/orprocessing streams to form one or more catalyst-treated feedstockstreams.

Typically, when the hydromethanation catalyst is solely or substantiallyan alkali metal, it is present in the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstockin an amount sufficient to provide a ratio of alkali metal atoms tocarbon atoms in the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock ranging from about0.01, or from about 0.02, or from about 0.03, or from about 0.04, toabout 0.10, or to about 0.08, or to about 0.07, or to about 0.06.

With some feedstocks, the alkali metal component may also be providedwithin the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock to achieve an alkali metalcontent of from about 3 to about 10 times more than the combined ashcontent of the carbonaceous material in the catalyzed carbonaceousfeedstock, on a mass basis.

Suitable alkali metals are lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium,and mixtures thereof. Particularly useful are potassium sources.Suitable alkali metal compounds include alkali metal carbonates,bicarbonates, formates, oxalates, amides, hydroxides, acetates, orsimilar compounds. For example, the catalyst can comprise one or more ofsodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, rubidium carbonate, lithiumcarbonate, cesium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide,rubidium hydroxide or cesium hydroxide, and particularly, potassiumcarbonate and/or potassium hydroxide.

Optional co-catalysts or other catalyst additives may be utilized, suchas those disclosed in the previously incorporated references.

The one or more catalyst-treated feedstock streams that are combined toform the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock typically comprise greaterthan about 50%, greater than about 70%, or greater than about 85%, orgreater than about 90% of the total amount of the loaded catalystassociated with the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32). Thepercentage of total loaded catalyst that is associated with the variouscatalyst-treated feedstock streams can be determined according tomethods known to those skilled in the art.

Separate carbonaceous particulates, catalyst-treated feedstock streams,and processing streams can be blended appropriately to control, forexample, the total catalyst loading or other qualities of the catalyzedcarbonaceous feedstock (31+32), as discussed previously. The appropriateratios of the various stream that are combined will depend on thequalities of the carbonaceous materials comprising each as well as thedesired properties of the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32). Forexample, a biomass particulate stream and a catalyzed non-biomassparticulate stream can be combined in such a ratio to yield a catalyzedcarbonaceous feedstock (31+32) having a predetermined ash content, asdiscussed previously.

Any of the preceding catalyst-treated feedstock streams, processingstreams, and processed feedstock streams, as one or more dryparticulates and/or one or more wet cakes, can be combined by anymethods known to those skilled in the art including, but not limited to,kneading, and vertical or horizontal mixers, for example, single or twinscrew, ribbon, or drum mixers. The resulting catalyzed carbonaceousfeedstock (31+32) can be stored for future use or transferred to one ormore feed operations for introduction into the hydromethanationreactor(s). The catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock can be conveyed tostorage or feed operations according to any methods known to thoseskilled in the art, for example, a screw conveyer or pneumatictransport.

Further, excess moisture can be removed from the catalyzed carbonaceousfeedstock (31+32). For example, the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock(31+32) may be dried with a fluid bed slurry drier (i.e., treatment withsuperheated steam to vaporize the liquid), or the solution thermallyevaporated or removed under a vacuum, or under a flow of an inert gas,to provide a catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock having a residual moisturecontent, for example, of about 10 wt % or less, or of about 8 wt % orless, or about 6 wt % or less, or about 5 wt % or less, or about 4 wt %or less. In such a case, steam generated from process heat recovery isdesirably utilized.

Catalyst Recovery (300)

Reaction of the catalyzed carbonaceous feedstock (31+32) under thedescribed conditions generally provides the fines-depletedmethane-enriched raw product stream (52) and a solid char by-product(58) (and (58 a)) from the hydromethanation reactor (200). The solidchar by-product (58) typically comprises quantities of unreacted carbon,inorganic ash and entrained catalyst. The solid char by-product (58) canbe removed from the hydromethanation reactor (200) for sampling,purging, and/or catalyst recovery via a char outlet.

The term “entrained catalyst” as used herein means chemical compoundscomprising the catalytically active portion of the hydromethanationcatalyst, e.g., alkali metal compounds present in the char by-product.For example, “entrained catalyst” can include, but is not limited to,soluble alkali metal compounds (such as alkali metal carbonates, alkalimetal hydroxides and alkali metal oxides) and/or insoluble alkalicompounds (such as alkali metal aluminosilicates). The nature ofcatalyst components associated with the char extracted are discussed,for example, in previously incorporated US2007/0277437A1,US2009/0165383A1, US2009/0165382A1, US2009/0169449A1 andUS2009/0169448A1.

The solid char by-product is continuously or periodically withdrawn fromthe hydromethanation reactor (200) through a char outlet which can, forexample, be a lock hopper system, although other methods are known tothose skilled in the art. Methods for removing solid char product arewell known to those skilled in the art. One such method taught byEP-A-0102828, for example, can be employed.

The char by-product (58) from the hydromethanation reactor (200) may bepassed to a catalytic recovery unit (300), as described below. Such charby-product (58) may also be split into multiple streams, one of whichmay be passed to a catalyst recovery unit (300), and another streamwhich may be used, for example, as a methanation catalyst (as describedin previously incorporated US2010/0121125A1) and not treated forcatalyst recovery.

In certain embodiments, when the hydromethanation catalyst is an alkalimetal, the alkali metal in the solid char by-product (58) can berecovered to produce a catalyst recycle stream (57), and any unrecoveredcatalyst can be compensated by a catalyst make-up stream (57) (see, forexample, previously incorporated US2009/0165384A1). The more aluminaplus silica that is in the feedstock, the more costly it is to obtain ahigher alkali metal recovery.

In one embodiment, the solid char by-product (58) from thehydromethanation reactor (200) can be quenched with a recycle gas andwater to extract a portion of the entrained catalyst. The recoveredcatalyst (57) can be directed to the catalyst loading unit (350) forreuse of the alkali metal catalyst. The depleted char (59) can, forexample, be directed to any one or more of the feedstock preparationoperations (100) for reuse in preparation of the catalyzed feedstock(via line (59 a)), combusted to power one or more steam generators (suchas disclosed in previously incorporated US2009/0165376A1)), or used assuch in a variety of applications, for example, as an absorbent (such asdisclosed in previously incorporated US2009/0217582A1).

Other particularly useful recovery and recycling processes are describedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,138, as well as previously incorporatedUS2007/0277437A1 US2009/0165383A1, US2009/0165382A1, US2009/0169449A1and US2009/0169448A1. Reference can be had to those documents forfurther process details.

The recycle of catalyst can be to one or a combination of catalystloading processes. For example, all of the recycled catalyst can besupplied to one catalyst loading process, while another process utilizesonly makeup catalyst. The levels of recycled versus makeup catalyst canalso be controlled on an individual basis among catalyst loadingprocesses.

The by-product char (58) can also be treated for recovery of otherby-products, such as vanadium, in addition to catalyst recovery, asdisclosed in previously incorporated U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/094,438.

Multi-Train Processes

In the processes of the invention, each process may be performed in oneor more processing units. For example, one or more hydromethanationreactors may be supplied with the carbonaceous feedstock from one ormore catalyst loading and/or feedstock preparation unit operations.Similarly, the methane-enriched raw product streams generated by one ormore hydromethanation reactors may be processed or purified separatelyor via their combination at various downstream points depending on theparticular system configuration, as discussed, for example, inpreviously incorporated US2009/0324458A1, US2009/0324459A1,US2009/0324460A1, US2009/0324461A1 and US2009/0324462A1.

In certain embodiments, the processes utilize two or morehydromethanation reactors (e.g., 2-4 hydromethanation reactors). In suchembodiments, the processes may contain divergent processing units (i.e.,less than the total number of hydromethanation reactors) prior to thehydromethanation reactors for ultimately providing the catalyzedcarbonaceous feedstock to the plurality of hydromethanation reactors,and/or convergent processing units (i.e., less than the total number ofhydromethanation reactors) following the hydromethanation reactors forprocessing the plurality of methane-enriched raw product streamsgenerated by the plurality of hydromethanation reactors.

When the systems contain convergent processing units, each of theconvergent processing units can be selected to have a capacity to acceptgreater than a 1/n portion of the total feed stream to the convergentprocessing units, where n is the number of convergent processing units.Similarly, when the systems contain divergent processing units, each ofthe divergent processing units can be selected to have a capacity toaccept greater than a 1/m portion of the total feed stream supplying theconvergent processing units, where m is the number of divergentprocessing units.

Examples of Specific Embodiments

A specific embodiment of the process is one in which the process is acontinuous process, in which steps (a), (b), (c) and (d), are operatedin a continuous manner.

Another specific embodiment is on in which the superheated steam streamand oxygen-rich stream are mixed at or prior to introduction into thelower portion of the fluidized bed.

Another specific embodiment is one in which oxygen-rich gas stream (14)is supplied continuously to hydromethanation reactor (200), and theamount of oxygen provided is varied as a process control, for example,to control of the desired operating temperature of the hydromethanationreaction. As oxygen is supplied to the hydromethanation reactor, theresulting oxidation/combustion reaction (for example with carbon in theby-product char and fines) generates heat energy (as well as typicallysome amounts of carbon monoxide and hydrogen). The amount of oxygensupplied to the hydromethanation reactor can be increased or decreasedto increase or decrease the combustion/oxidation and, consequently, theamount of heat energy being generated, in situ in the hydromethanationreactor.

Another specific embodiment is one where the methane-enriched rawproduct stream is introduced into a first heat exchanger unit to recoverheat energy and generate a cooled methane-enriched raw product stream.

Another specific embodiment is one where the heat energy recovered inthe first heat exchanger unit is used to generate a first process steamstream, and superheat the first process steam stream for use as all or apart of the superheated steam stream for introduction into thehydromethanation reactor.

Another specific embodiment is one where at least a portion of thecarbon monoxide in the cooled methane-enriched raw product stream issteam shifted to generate heat energy and a hydrogen-enriched rawproduct stream.

Another specific embodiment is one where heat energy is recovered fromthe steam shifting, and at least a portion of the recovered heat energyis utilized to preheat boiler feed water for use in generating processsteam.

Another specific embodiment is one where the hydrogen-enriched rawproduct stream is substantially dehydrated to generate a dehydratedhydrogen-enriched raw product stream.

Another specific embodiment is one where a substantial portion of thecarbon dioxide and a substantial portion of the hydrogen sulfide areremoved from the dehydrated hydrogen-enriched raw product stream toproduce a sweetened gas stream comprising a substantial portion of thehydrogen, carbon monoxide (if present in the dehydratedhydrogen-enriched raw product stream) and methane from the dehydratedhydrogen-enriched raw product stream.

Another specific embodiment is one where a portion of hydrogen from thesweetened gas stream is separated to produce a hydrogen product streamand a hydrogen-depleted sweetened gas stream comprising methane,hydrogen and optionally carbon monoxide.

Another specific embodiment is one where carbon monoxide and hydrogenpresent in the sweetened gas stream (or hydrogen-depleted sweetened gasstream, if present) are reacted in a catalytic methanator in thepresence of a methanation catalyst to produce heat energy and amethane-enriched sweetened gas stream.

Another specific embodiment is one where heat energy from the catalyticmethanation is recovered and at least a portion of the recovered heatenergy is utilized to generate and superheat a second process steamstream.

Another specific embodiment is one where the superheated steam streamsubstantially comprises (or alternatively only comprises) steam from thefirst process steam stream and the second process steam stream.

Another specific embodiment is one where the process is steam neutral orsteam positive.

Another specific embodiment is one in which there is no fuel-firedsuperheater is used to superheat the steam fed to the hydromethanationreactor during steady-state operation of the process, which steam issuperheated only through process heat recovery.

Another specific embodiment is one where the methane-enriched sweetenedgas stream is recovered as a methane product stream.

Another specific embodiment is one where the methane product stream is apipeline-quality natural gas.

Another specific embodiment is one where the target operatingtemperature of the hydromethanation reaction (step (b)) is at leastabout at least about 1000° F. (about 538° C.) to about 1500° F. (about816° C.), as described above.

Another specific embodiment is one where the superheated steam stream isfed to the hydromethanation reactor at a temperature of from about 500°F. (about 260° C.) to about 950° F. (about 510° C.), as described above.

Another specific embodiment is one where the superheated steam streamand the oxygen-rich stream are combined for feeding into the lowersection of the fluidized bed of the hydromethanation reactor, and thetemperature of the combined stream is from about from about 500° F.(about 260° C.) to about 900° F. (about 482° C.), as described above.

Another specific embodiment is one where the syngas demand issubstantially satisfied (or satisfied) by in situ generation of syngas(step (d)); therefore, substantially no (or no) syngas is added to thehydromethanation reactor (except as may inherently be present in thecarbonaceous feedstock or the fines stream fed back into thehydromethanation reactor).

Another specific embodiment is one where the steam demand issubstantially satisfied (or satisfied) by steam in the superheated steamstream, the oxygen-rich gas stream and the fines stream that is recycledback to the hydromethanation reactor, as well as steam generated in situfrom the carbonaceous feedstock.

Another specific embodiment is one where the heat demand issubstantially satisfied (or satisfied) by in situ heat generation (step(d)), as all of the primary streams provided to the hydromethanationreactor (the steam stream, the oxygen-rich gas stream the carbonaceousfeedstock/hydromethanation catalyst and fines recycle stream) areintroduced at a temperature below the target operating temperature ofthe hydromethanation reactor.

We claim:
 1. A process for generating a fines-depleted methane-enrichedraw product gas stream from a non-gaseous carbonaceous material, theprocess comprising the steps of: (a) supplying to a hydromethanationreactor (1) a carbonaceous feedstock derived from the non-gaseouscarbonaceous material, (2) a hydromethanation catalyst, (3) asuperheated steam stream and (4) an oxygen-rich gas stream, wherein thehydromethanation reactor comprises a fluidized bed having a upperportion above a lower portion, and wherein the superheated steam streamand the oxygen-rich gas stream are introduced into the lower portion ofthe fluidized bed; (b) reacting a portion of the carbonaceous feedstockin the hydromethanation reactor in the presence of hydromethanationcatalyst, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and steam at a target operatingtemperature to produce a methane-enriched raw gas and a solid by-productchar, wherein the methane-enriched raw gas comprises methane, carbonmonoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, steam, heat energyand entrained fines; (c) treating the methane-enriched raw gas to removea substantial portion of the entrained fines to generated afines-depleted methane-enriched raw product gas stream and a recoveredfines stream; and (d) reacting a portion of the carbonaceous feedstockwith oxygen to produce carbon monoxide, hydrogen and heat energy;wherein: (i) the reaction of step (b) predominates in the upper portionof the fluidized bed; (ii) the reaction of step (d) predominates in thelower portion of the fluidized bed; and (iii) at least a portion of thefines stream is fed into the lower portion of the fluidized bed.
 2. Theprocess of claim 1, wherein the reaction of step (b) has a syngas demandand a heat demand, and the heat demand and syngas demand aresubstantially satisfied by the reaction of step (d).
 3. The process ofclaim 2, wherein the syngas demand and the heat demand are satisfied bythe reaction of step (d).
 4. The process of claim 1, wherein thereaction of step (b) has a steam demand, and the steam demand issubstantially satisfied by steam in the superheated steam stream, theoxygen-rich gas stream and the fines stream fed into the lower portionof the fluidized bed, and steam generated from the carbonaceousfeedstock.
 5. The process of claim 4, wherein the steam demand issatisfied by steam in the superheated steam stream and the oxygen-richgas stream, and steam generated from the carbonaceous feedstock.
 6. Theprocess of claim 1, wherein the superheated steam stream, theoxygen-rich gas stream, the carbonaceous feedstock and thehydromethanation catalyst are introduced into the hydromethanationreactor at a temperature below the target operating temperature of thereaction of step (b).
 7. The process of claim 1, wherein the targetoperating temperature is at least about at least about 1000° F. (about538° C.) to about 1500° F. (about 816° C.).
 8. The process of claim 1,wherein the superheated steam stream is fed to the hydromethanationreactor at a temperature of from about 500° F. (about 260° C.) to about950° F. (about 510° C.).
 9. The process of claim 1, wherein thesuperheated steam stream and the oxygen-rich stream are combined forfeeding into the lower section of the fluidized bed of thehydromethanation reactor, and the temperature of the combined stream isfrom about from about 500° F. (about 260° C.) to about 900° F. (about482° C.).
 10. The process of claim 1, wherein the methane-enriched rawproduct stream comprises at least about 15 mol % methane (based on themoles of methane, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen in themethane-enriched raw product stream), and at least 50 mol % methane pluscarbon dioxide (based on the moles of methane, carbon dioxide, carbonmonoxide and hydrogen in the methane-enriched raw product stream). 11.The process of claim 1, wherein the methane-enriched raw product streamis introduced into a first heat exchanger unit to recover heat energyand generate a cooled methane-enriched raw product stream, and whereinthe heat energy recovered in the first heat exchanger unit is used togenerate a first process steam stream, and superheat the first processsteam stream for use as all or a part of the superheated steam streamfor introduction into the hydromethanation reactor.
 12. The process ofclaim 11, wherein at least a portion of the carbon monoxide in thecooled methane-enriched raw product stream is steam shifted to generateheat energy and a hydrogen-enriched raw product stream.
 13. The processof claim 12, wherein heat energy is recovered from the steam shifting,and at least a portion of the recovered heat energy is utilized topreheat boiler feed water for use in generating process steam.
 14. Theprocess of claim 12, wherein the hydrogen-enriched raw product stream issubstantially dehydrated to generate a dehydrated hydrogen-enriched rawproduct stream.
 15. The process of claim 14, wherein a substantialportion of the carbon dioxide and a substantial portion of the hydrogensulfide are removed from the dehydrated hydrogen-enriched raw productstream to produce a sweetened gas stream comprising a substantialportion of the hydrogen, carbon monoxide (if present in the dehydratedhydrogen-enriched raw product stream) and methane from the dehydratedhydrogen-enriched raw product stream.
 16. The process of claim 15,wherein carbon monoxide and hydrogen present in the sweetened gas stream(or hydrogen-depleted sweetened gas stream, if present) are reacted in acatalytic methanator in the presence of a methanation catalyst toproduce heat energy and a methane-enriched sweetened gas stream.
 17. Theprocess of claim 16, wherein methane-enriched sweetened gas stream isrecovered as a methane product stream.
 18. The process of claim 17,wherein the methane product stream is a pipeline-quality natural gas.19. The process of claim 16, wherein heat energy from the catalyticmethanation is recovered and at least a portion of the recovered heatenergy is utilized to generate and superheat a second process steamstream.
 20. The process of claim 19, wherein the superheated steamstream substantially comprises steam from the first process steam streamand the second process steam stream.